


Do you love me now,darling?

by HelloMrBlue



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anthology, Bitter, English is hard, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, For some stories, Free day, Gen, Honeymoon, Literally some ideas were dreams, Marriage, Morning, Post-Game(s), Road Trips, Shuharu Week 2020, Some Royal Elements, Something New, Wedding Fluff, Work, fade to black smut, no beta we die like goro, shuharu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:46:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25195639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HelloMrBlue/pseuds/HelloMrBlue
Summary: A collection of stories based on the prompts for ShuHaru Week 2020.Featuring Ren Amamiya and Haru Okumura.Contains the following prompts:Road TripMorningSomething NewHoneymoonWorkBitterand a Free Day.All the stories are self contained, unless marked by the notes at the start of each chapter.“Some flowers do not belong where they were originally planted.”― Giovannie de Sadeleer
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Okumura Haru, Kurusu Akira/Okumura Haru, Okumura Haru/Persona 5 Protagonist, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37
Collections: Shuharu Week 2k19 + 2k20





	1. Road Trip

**Author's Note:**

> While I appreciate that these diverse ship (and character) weeks gave some people the methods and themes sometimes they lack (or rather didn’t thought, like me), I don’t like too much the fact you need to do it and post it on 7 different days. 
> 
> Maybe is the fact I need to juggle work, life, fanfics and other things, I don't know. Quality over quantity. Therefore, I decided to make the full anthology for a better and relaxed view of the characters (And because I still cannot fill deadlines on something I still see as a hobby). 
> 
> That been said, let’s go with my favorite ship of the P5 ships.

**This is the third stop of the day.** While the first day of travel was a delightful experience (since it was the first time Ren Amamiya drove a car ever since getting his license), he was going restless, to drive into such an important place was to be there on time, to be empathic and obviously, to pay his respects.

That didn’t mean that he couldn’t play a little bit with her.

_“Ren, are you here?”_ A little poke on his cheek pulled him back to reality.

_“Um, yes. Yeah, yes. The coffee is good, but I like their sandwiches.”_

Her little laugh pulled a blush from him. Already got so far into their destination, they decided to explore a little bit of the sights of Okayama. But first, a coffee and a little time to breathe the calmness of the south, far away from the bustling city.

_“I’m sorry. Was I spacing out again?”_

She nodded. _“But don’t worry. It is normal for you to think about everything. I know you long enough to see you bouncing around, so don’t worry.”_

He smiled. While his mind became a well-oiled machine ever since those phantom thief years, the toll he took from all those Persona was unimaginable. Some days he was up, some he was down. One day was him, focusing too deep into his barista hobby-real work he loved to do- life. Other days were him, not wanting to do anything besides waking up and stare into the ceiling above.

_“Did I ever told you how much I love you, Haru?”_

Time for her to pull the blush. _“You did. Many, many times.”_

A simple kiss sealed the confidence he had around her. 

_“Ready to leave? I don’t want you to be too lazy before we go into the car.”_ She already paid the check, a little vantage point of having a fiancee who is also a powerful member of a conglomerate.

_“I guess. How much before the next hotel? Like a couple of hours?”_

_“The assistant says that at least 20 minutes. Or… we can drive until we reach Hiroshima and have some fun. I’m sure father and grandpa will understand. You need to relax, I need to relax. **And you like to relax~”**_ She made some emphasis on the last part while rubbing his beloved´s thigh. Those eyes of hers he only saw while in more ´private´ affairs made some memories pop.

_“Well… Hiroshima it is, then. Everything for my little Noir.”_

* * *

Driving became a kinda breezing motion for Ren. No doubt was on his mind when he accepted the ‘crazy’ idea of using a normal car instead of the train or a private chauffeur to drive from Tokyo to Hiroshima, a task of 14 hrs (by the internet standards) on a vehicle without exceeding 80 kilometers per hour. 

He still remembers the face of Sojiro when he told him he wanted to learn to drive. **‘Over my wrecked car’** he said. But after some little time behind the wheel (with the pressure of Sojiro sitting at his side, with Futaba in the back), he finally let take his precious classic car to take the test.

It was then, on his 18th birthday. He walked into the office, took his test… and failed. Luckily, he retook it just before the travel, now with the added fear of derailing the entire trip and scored way beyond the minimum, finally going out the door with the license in hand and all the thieves celebrating. Much to the delight of Makoto, who was on the verge of being full Queen mode and give him the mouthful of his lifetime.

Air passing by the windows, the coastline on this clear day, and the sounds of the radio were the most pleasant thing he could find right now. As the soft snores of Haru on the passenger seat resonated in the early morning, Ren couldn’t ask for a better way to spend part of his summer vacation, even when most of their friends would like to stay together.

But still, doubt lingers on his mind. Would they like him? Would they love him? Would they approve of his relationship with her? So many questions plaguing his view. Need a breather, he thought.

Slowly pulling into the side of the freeway, he made sure that Haru was still asleep. A simple unfastening his seatbelt, turning the key and off the car he went. Looking into the coastline, slowly sunrise at hand, he started to think about the many what if’s since that moment he saw Arsene on that Shibuya crossing many years ago.

Only to be hugged from behind by a lovely and groggy girlfriend.

_“Hey sheep, did you slept well?”_

The sound of the muffled yawn vibrating his back gave him the answer he needed.

_“What are you thinking?” She said, not leaving his back. He returned the gesture holding her hands, not leaving his sight of the morning sun._

_“Everything. Sometimes I ask myself what would happen if I didn’t saw him that day. Or even in what would the world be if I didn’t follow Ryuji into the metaverse. Many, many, many, many, many times I dreamed of a normal life.”_

_“A normal life… without me?”_

He tensed and after a deep breath, he finally let out the cloudiness of his mind.

_“Is just… I’m sure there’s a world where the metaverse didn’t happen. Where I went to Tokyo only to be a normal student, Ryuji became a good athlete. Ann a rising model on Japan. Makoto and Sae being the best family they are. Futaba and her mother living peacefully with Sojiro. Where Sumire and her sister were the greatest gymnasts in the country. Goro leaving his life like someone who wasn’t trained to kill. A world where your father was here with us, where we could be happier than ever, where you were freed of that horrible person from the start.”_

She quickly turned around him and took his face on her hands, their feelings in sync. Haru could feel the insecurities of his boyfriend, he was dealing with this for a few days now, rather along all these years after the shot at that god threatening the world.

_“And who says we aren’t in that world, Ren? Look at us, we’re on a relationship. Ryuji is doing fine with his life and Ann is traveling the world. Makoto is doing fine in the police academy and Sae is winning many of the cases she’s taking. Sumire is honoring her sister a step at a time. Futaba and Sojiro love you like the brother and son you are -even when you are not bound by blood- and I’m happy being at your side. I’m sure Father had his reasons to do those awful things and I forgive him. But how I will do all that if you don’t forgive yourself?”_

She was right, said the Joker within him. She is right, said the remnants of Arsene. She’s totally and one hundred percent right, said himself. With renewed vigor, he returned to the car, opening first the passenger door before going into the driver.

Haru was confused. As she went inside the car and buckle her seatbelt, she asked if everything is alright.

He only said something before starting the engine and almost flooring the pedal.

_“Buckle up good, my little croissant. We cannot let them wait any more time.”_

* * *

The **Sakamoto International Cemetery** is by no means a normal cemetery. As ironic that the last name of Ryuji is the same for this site of last rites and tearful goodbyes, the cemetery holds a lot of history and families seeing their relatives in peace. Among the sounds of the summer cicadas, deep in the Shin Sakamoto quarter of the site, past the single tombs and the foreigner section, an inscription was on one of the graves: 

The Okumura family burial tombstone.

_“Hello mother, hello father, hello grampa, hello grandma. How are you today?”_ Haru said while washing and caring of the tomb, now more pristine than ever after the addition of the name of his father, Kunikazu. Although Ren would wanted to help Haru with the cleaning, Haru told him to wait, something that he liked in the end, since he was close enough to set a plan that took a lot of time in the making.

_“I hope that Father isn’t too cranky up there, especially with you, grampa. Everything has changed a lot since last year, to be honest. Takakura-san is doing a lot more in the conglomerate since you left, father. A lot of changes in the board have helped in the transition of the company to something more relaxing to all. “_

A lighter igniting one of the incense sticks she brought with her accompanied the sounds of nature surrounding the cemetery.

_“Even when the bad reputation is still on all of us, Takakura-san and I are doing our best with all the shareholders, the fact we’re are changing all the policies to be a better place to work has shocked some heads here and there. But some of them agreed even when others took their shares and left the board. I’m doing well in college, thanks to both of you. Please lend me your strength to earn my degree and later see if I can take the company after Takakura-san’s departure.”_

Another splash of water and reverence made a slight pause on the conversation.

 _“I hope you can deal with father and their rants with grampa, mother.”_ A slight laugh came into the ears of Ren, a few tombs away from her.

_“Yes, I know he’s still stubborn after all these years. But believe me that he was doing his best, in the end, to eliminate his wrongdoings after you left. We changed everything in the mansion, I’m sure you liked that. I rather sell it and make a small home to be there but, I’m sure many of the staff wouldn’t like that. Mamoru-san showed me your secret bread recipe before making this trip. I’m sure that my first attempts aren’t going to be as good as those loaves you and him made in the Kitchen, but he assured me that someday, I’ll be alright. Just need to practice, please lend me your peace.”_

Another splash of water, a reverence, and a clap.

_“Hi, grandma. I hope you are giving their smacks to my father and my grandpa. They need to get some rest after all. Yes, yes, I know. I’m pretty sure they haven’t changed a little bit. Since last year, I’m being more caring with myself. That’s something you loved to see. I’m changing my habits a lot more lately. Even without father, I’m sure to look something new and never stay in one place. I need to be happy, as you told my mother. Please, lend me your calmness.”_

A final splash of water, some incense now burning at the site, and one more reverence finally ended the conversation with her family. But still was one thing to do.

_“Oh! Speaking of happiness. I’m finally glad to introduce all of you to someone. As father may recall, I met a person who later became very close to me during my last year on Shujin.”_

She made a gesture to him to get close, this was it, the moment of truth.

Ren went and gave his reverence to the tombstone. After splashing some water, he spoke:

_“Kunikazu-san, Katsuhito-san. Miu-san. Takayo-san. A pleasure to meet you all.”_

_“This is Ren. Ren Amamiya, my current boyfriend.”_

Another reverence started the biggest heist of all.

_“I’m sure I would like to meet you in another form, Kunikazu-san. But the world we’re living thought another way for this to be. Rest assured, I’m glad to be the one who can help Haru to reach the cereal over the fridge.”_

A light shove from her let out a small laugh from Ren.

_“But alas, I’m happy she chose me from all the people on earth. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t like it when I drool as I sleep but at least it isn’t so bad when compared to her sleep talking.”_

_“R-R-Ren!”_ A slight blush from her made him stop with the teasing.

_“One thing I can be sure of is that no matter what happens, I’ll not going to harm her. She is behind some of the accomplishments of my life and I’m sure I’ll help her with her own accomplishments as well. That been said, I’m sure all of our friends will help us without a doubt. Without them, we couldn’t be here. In front of all of you. Please lend us all of your strength, peace, happiness, and love for the rest of our lives.”_

Once more, a reverence came with Ren’s prayer. Haru’s smile only adding more while doing reverence as well. 

_“I guess that’s all for today. I’ll see you all next year. Goodbye, mother. Goodbye father. Goodbye grandpa and grandma.”_ Haru started to retreat into the car, only to be stopped by Ren holding her arm.

_“Huh… Ren?”_

_“I’m sorry, Haru. But If I don’t do it right here, I’ll have to wait until next year.”_

Haru looked at him with confusion. What was he up to?

He started. _“With all due respect to all the Okumura family and with your father, mother, grandparents present, I need to do this. I’m sorry.”_

**And then he stood on a knee.**

Haru gasped and tried to hold her tears. Was he going to…?!

He took a deep breath. And another one. And another one. He took a little box from his pocket and took another deep breath. Come on Ren, you can do it.

He tried to say something but nothing came out of his mouth... until a blue butterfly who passed in the middle of them took a rest over the tombstone. It was his signal. Go on, young one, make your feelings known.

_“Haru, some years ago I was sent to Tokyo as someone dangerous to society. Someone who was thought to always carry a knife and whose glasses were only a mask to finally walk the hallways of Shujin. Everybody knew those rumors, spreading as fast as gunpowder. Even you knew about it. But still, when you saw me that sunny day on the rooftop, you didn’t saw me as dangerous or rather, as a delinquent. You saw me as a person. And that meant a lot to me.”_

And the dam broke in two, Haru’s tears falling by the second.

_“Needless to say, the days went by. Rain fell down on my heart, and as with your garden. started blooming a sensation I haven’t felt in months. Peace. Afterward, the thieves happened -sorry Kunikazu-san- and still remember that beautiful thief jumping in front of me on that palace. Later I knew that beautiful thief was that person who gave me those feelings on that rooftop. I was caught by that thief, and she took my heart. First and only time.”_

He took a slight look into the tombstone. The butterfly now resting over the incense jar.

_“What I’m saying is this. Haru, I’m glad to meet you. Even in the craziest world, I couldn’t saw myself with someone other than you. And in front of your family, in front of you, and with my soul…”_

He opened the box revealing a [small silver ring](https://personacentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/P5-Joker-Ring-5.jpg), with the design of his mask and his code name engraved on the side.

_**“Haru Okumura, will you marry me?”** _

To say it was a cliché was a big misunderstanding, but the clouds came before them. Covering both of them from the midday sun.

_“Yes.”_

She nodded, while in tears. _“Yes. Yes. Yes, Ren. Thousand times Yes.”_

He finally stood up and after placing the ring on Haru’s finger, a hungry kiss was planted on his lips. All the years waiting, sealed on that kiss… only to stop when they remembered that they were in a place of sacred rest and in front of her whole family.

They took a respectful reverence, mostly as an apology for the ruckus made by her love. Blushes all over their faces.

As they left, holding hands, the small blue butterfly disappeared into the air. A reminder that sometime, somewhere, the Okumura family were happy with the new life of their daughter and her new fiancée.

Peace felt over the cemetery while the incense was burning on the jar.

**The greatest heist of all, complete success.**


	2. Morning Class 101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today is a new day. A new morning. A start for real into the college life of one Haru Okumura. But what happens when the class some people told you not to take, ends been the best class of your life thanks to one person?
> 
> She's not a morning person. But that's going to change thanks to someone...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> University and Kinda normal AU. I’ll always remembered my biggest and coolest mornings as I was attending College. Maybe Haru is onto that? I don’t know. I'm a college dropout in a remote/home office work that has nothing to do with my career, but I still remember college as a good place overall. 
> 
> College is not for everyone, but you don't know that if you don't try it first.
> 
> Congratulations to the Class of 2020! No, seriously, congratulations!

***BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP***

A soft groan from the mountain of blankets beside the alarm clock let out the discomfort of waking up.

***BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP***

_ “I’m coming…” _

***BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP* *Click***

Haru Okumura wasn’t a morning person. Even when most of her time in school was during those hours, the fact that she didn’t like waking up early didn't land until she reached college. The cheerful person who loved to get up, and prepare for her day died after only one semester. 

Good riddance, hello ‘I need more sleep’.

Although she did wake up this time, thanks to the alarm clock Makoto gave to her as a college present. To believe that she would be here, in the prestigious Shujin University (Shudai for some) after all adversities she faced years ago. Besides, she not only got into college, she finally convinced her dad to throw away that arranged marriage with that disgusting person whose name she doesn’t like to remember.

Not only that, but she also survived a ‘cursed year’ after the media found out the PA teacher was an abuser, the director was hiding all of that, some people were blackmailing one of the teachers, her dad was being manipulated into abusing their workers and out by the board only to be reinstated thanks to Takakura, a former friend of the family.

But that was the past, this is today. And today marks the beginning of her second period of college. It’s 5:30am, her first class is at 7:00am on the clock, and if she knew that better be there to see if the professor she got was the appropriate for **‘Marketing and Social Studies I’**.

A quick shower, a simple dark blue blouse with a pair of washed-up jeans, and a pair of flats made the outfit of the day. A simple brush to her fluffy auburn hair and some touches of makeup to cover up the small bags under her eyes, a product of the sleepovers she and Makoto had over the break. 

Ta da! Haru Okumura ready to go!

6:10 am, still 50 minutes to go. Enough to peek a little into Mako’s room. A sleepy Makoto using her boyfriend as a blanket. An **athletic, blond, and kinda dumb** **but honest with his friends and who will give his all for his well-being** blanket. She kinda wants a relationship like that, someone who saw you since high school all the way into today. But that’s for another day.

Hop in the car, seat belt clicks in. Thank god the bag of exotic coffee Ann gave her as a gift in the ‘You got in!’ party brewed quickly to put it in her thermo and get a kick up later and don’t fall asleep in the classroom. Oh, call from her? Here’s hoping the Bluetooth works well. 

She waited until the next red light to answer the call.

_ “Hello, Ann. You’re on speaker, still driving.” _

_ “Oh! Sorry, maybe I’ll wait. Want me to call you a little bit later?” _

_ “Don’t worry. I’m at a red light and there are almost no people right now. Tell me.” _

_ “Yeah. Ok. The 7 am class has been delayed until 8am.” _

Haru almost screamed because of the announcement. She quickly recovered and pulled aside in a street. She was frustrated, to say the least. A groan with her head hitting the center of the steering wheel letting the honking sound for an instant let Ann very worried.

_ “Haru?! Haru? Haru, are you there?” _

_“I’m alright.”_ She let her gaze go deep into the roof in the inside of the car. 

_ “Are you sure it’s canceled? Did the professor said anything?” _

_ “Oh thank god. And yes, I just checked the mail from Mr. Sakura. I’m sure you got it right now.” _

And lo’ and behold, there it was. A brisk mail with the subject **‘7AM CLASS DELAYED- SORRY’** on her phone. Haru felt the dread of waking up early, get fancy, and ready for this class only to find this. The worse part? Her next class is at 10am. Bravo for those broken schedules the system let her took in the last week of vacation.

_“Oh god. Not today of all days.”_ A deep sigh to release the tension. She really wanted to scream her lungs out but is still 6:35 am. Better not to wake up the entire street because of one lost class.

_ “Haru? Anything alright?” _

_ “I’m fine. Is just… my next class is from 10 am. How I’m going to kill three whole hours?!” _

And head into the steering wheel for the second time today. She did take caution as to not let the honk go out again. Haru wants to let the people sleep, something she didn’t have much lately.

_ “Oh! I know what we can do!”  _ Said Ann _. _

_ “This isn’t like last time when you said that and I lost a full day last April, right?” _

_ “Oh no. Of course, it isn’t. Who you do take me for?!” _

Haru wanted to respond. She didn’t say anything. Is 6:50am. By this time, she was already parked in the faculty grounds and walking freely into the classroom. But now? Who the hell knows.

_“Just come into the faculty. We could stay in the room and wait there, is better than nothing. Besides, he didn't say it was canceled after all,”_ said Ann.

_ “Give me a few minutes. Hope this isn’t another skipping day for the teacher, Ann. I already have enough.” _

_“Hey! That was mean!”_ A heartful laugh from both of them let out the anxiety Haru had since she left the apartment. She turned off her turn lights and finally let the car take its course into the Shujin University’s Faculty of Economics.

* * *

If you can ask Haru if the Faculty of Economics was a simple college, she could tell you how ostentatious it is. A big building, 7 stories high with a big library on the side as a powerful tool not only for them, for also for the graduates on the university’s Graduate School of Economics or in the Graduate School of Public Policy.  But right now, it was the place of ‘Marketing and Social Studies I’ from 8am to 9am. As both Ann and Haru entered the room 201-A they saw some of the few -rather less than 10- students who took the class.

But she didn’t know how were they in terms of focus and discipline until the professor, Mr. Sojiro Sakura entered the room at 7:55am.

_ “Sorry, sorry. There was a problem at the administration building and had to move over there and fight them as always.” _

The middle-aged man, wearing his signature pink shirt, black tie, and jeans with the loafers saw the few people in the room. In his many years of teaching, he was already used to see fewer people taking his class. Not because of the difficulty curve, but instead…

_ “Alright. Only 8 people this time? Good. That means we can work in pairs. I’ll say your names and sit beside your partner. Remember, he or she will be at your side through this whole period.” _

As Mr. Sakura started the class, writing the qualifications and some of the metrics the class was going to learn each day, a certain person a few seats away from Haru was still asleep. Something that bothered her a little bit, mainly because of the pair situation. Speaking of which…

_ “Ok. For this class, the way of seeing metrics and the correlation between earnings depend not only on the campaign and said objects of that campaign. It depends also on the point of view of the different members of the marketing team and how those ideas change the campaign to fully gave a more organic interaction and therefore, a higher success rate.” _

45 minutes into the class and Haru knew that this would be her hardest class yet.

_ “But enough nonsense. I’ll assign your partner for this class. I hope all of you can get well with each other. Especially since we have a special person in this class.” _

**‘A special person?’** thought Haru.

_“This will be your partners,”_ said Mr. Sakura while holding his agenda on one hand.

**‘Why is this person special? Could it be a genius? Or rather someone really bad in the subject? Maybe he's an exchange student? Or rather someone already studying for a master? Could it be famous? Could it be someone who I want to work with? Could it be she? Hope whatsoever person it is, it is a good student.'**

Until…

_ “And Okumura...” _

She raised her hand _“Yes!”_

_ “Goes with our special boy, Ren Amamiya.” _

_ “...huh?” _

Mr. Sakura started to climb the steps into the seats of the hall while Haru sent a small glance to Ann, who already was with her class partner and giving Haru a terrified expression.

But as soon as she turned to see the hooded figure 3 seats to her left and Mr. Sakura in front of it, she connected the dots quickly and let the terror creepin’ up her back.

A light hit with the agenda on its head and the hooded figure jumped on its seat. 

_“Oh hi, Boss.”_ Putting down the hood and a quick look at his surroundings and the hour on his phone let him know about the situation. _“This late for class? Jeez, boss. I thought everything was good with the dean.”_ Another slight hit on his head.

_ “I’m not for games right now, Ren. Haru Okumura will be your partner. Don’t make a fuss, don’t make her throwing this class either. We clear?” _

Ren turned to see Haru. Then into Mr. Sakura. Then to her. Then to him.

_ “You sure?” _

_ “I’m sure.” _

_ “Fine.” _

It was at that moment Ren stood up with his backpack and sat beside Haru.

_ “Ren Amamiya, Sojiro’s assistant. You gonna work hard from now on.” _

‘What in the world is happening?!’ She said on her mind.

A rough start to this day. Haru Okumura isn’t a morning person.

* * *

As the days went by, one thing was certain: Mr. Sakura had something against her. Because everything needed to pass Ren’s judgment. And everything meant everything. From drafts of ‘campaigns’ to ‘budgets’ to ‘focus groups’, even the mock graphics she did for each of her assignments, was going by Ren’s eyes. And if something wasn’t good enough, back into the drawing board (or rather, her computer and files) it went.

This went on and on and on and on. Worst part? Ren didn’t do anything. As Ann and the other ‘rumor mill’ person of the class told her in a visit at 3am into the library, Ren already got a score of 99 by Sakura. But for some unknown reason, he couldn’t pass the last time he chose it for this class.

Nonetheless, some things were polished and finally did pass the approval of Ren. But everything came into a boiling point the week Mr. Sakura posted the midterms project, a project so important that if you went and receive a good score, you could pass his final exam without doing it and therefore, the whole class.

The task? Simple. Do a whole company based on a particular term on which Sojiro was a big fan of. Coffee. This meant that you needed to do the name, layout, products, marketing, design, logo, clients, and overall relationship with coffee. All of this. Without any errors.

But that meant that Ren had to give the final approval to submit the project.

It didn’t help much.

He just stayed there. Waiting.

It was deep within midterms, 2 days left to finally upload the whole document and wait for the score. And he was there, in the living room of her apartment, waiting as Haru was frantic changing some things after Ren saw the draft… the sixth draft, to be exact.

“ _Come on Haru, it is just to change little things. Don’t be crazy.”_ He said, all freshen up after submitting his last midterm that day. 

_“Little things? Ren, you told me the overall vision of the company was wrong and is almost 35 pages long. How much Sakura wants of it?”_ Haru was tired, she didn’t care that her hair was on a knot, wearing the Shujin University hoodie and sweatpants. Sleepless nights after shooting down her midterms for her other subjects, on mountains of caffeine. A big cup of it on one of her hands. Only Mr. Sakura was left.

“ _Well, you know Boss… He’s picky when you set a vision that cannot be real and certainly not quick.”_

_ “Ren… It is a fictional company, for a fictional objective, for an assignment. I don’t care what you say, Sakura is obviously not reading this.” _

_ “Of course he is. I’m pretty sure about that.” _

_ “Of course he isn’t! You just heard how long was Ann’s project? Almost 300 pages! 300!” _

_ “Yeah, Boss is going to read all of that in like 2 days. Maybe 1 if her daughter resumes all of that.” _

_“What do you mean…?”_ Haru was so close to rage.

_ “See, the fact that Boss reads this is not like he reads everything ‘everything’. He checks some pages here and there but most of all go to the program his daughter Futaba made for him.” _

_“A program…?”_ So close, very close.

_ “Yep, a program. The program checks everything and simulates the rate of success of the project. Needless to say, it also checks if everything is plagiarized so no one tries to submit the same work with almost no changes. Futaba made it for him when he was tired to read everything and spend days on it. Mmmm… Maybe it was why he’s fighting too often with the Dean. But is a very good program. Once Futaba told me that... ” _

She didn’t hear everything coming out Ren’s mouth. Haru saw the rage and told it: **Take me**.

Ren stopped talking as soon the cup of coffee fell into the floor and broke in many bits, spilling the coffee. She took a deep breath and rubbed her temples, ignoring the fact that Ren asked about the cup.  She took a step. Then another. Each step against Ren. And Ren recoiled. Her look was mean. Real mean. Like someone who had the biggest axe known to man starting a rampage.

_ “So you telling me… That this work… That took me almost an entire week to make… Which almost made me failed 2 whole subjects because they clashed with their midterms… Is not only not being read by Sakura himself… But it is checked by a computer… Who doesn’t care about how much I’ll do on this… AND EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON HOW HER DAUGHTER TELLS HIM ABOUT IT?!?!?!?” _

Ren was over the wall beside the door to Makoto’s room. She, by mere grace of whatever god or devil was around in the universe, was out with Ryuji, leaving both Ren and Haru alone in her apartment.  Ren was mute. He couldn’t say anything. It was the eyes, It was the fear. He really thought that Haru was going to take out a grenade launcher and shoot him until everything was ashes.

_ “Ah… You can say…” _

_ “AND NOT ONLY I NEED TO PUT EVERYTHING ON THIS BUT ALSO I NEED TO BE SO PERFECT TO YOUR GODDAMN LAZY SON OF A GUN EYES SO I CAN PASS?!?” _

_ “Haru… You are scaring me…” _

_ “I DID EVERYTHING YOU SAID. ALL THE WORKS. ALL THE BUDGETS. ALL THE LOGOS, MARKETING, AND EVEN THE DAMN SLOGAN. HELL, I EVEN DID THE GODDAMN SIMULATION SAKURA DIDN’T PUT INTO THE CONTENTS AND STILL YOU WANT ME TO CHANGE IT!” _

_ “Haru to be honest… I’m seriously terrified right now.” _

_ “YOU TERRIFIED?! YOU. ARE. TERRIFIED? BOOHOO REN AMAMIYA. I AM SICK OF YOU AND I AM SICK OF ALL OF THIS. YOU WANT SOMETHING GOOD? FINE. I AM GOING TO GIVE YOU SOMETHING GOOD.” _

She went into her computer, closed the document, and eliminated it from the hard drive, taking her time to also delete the backup on her online docs page. Ren’s mouth was agape.

_ “You erased the work?! Why?!” _

_ “BECAUSE YOU DESERVE IT. I DON’T CARE IF I NEED TO RETAKE THE CLASS. BUT YOU ARE. AND I’M PRETTY SURE YOU DON’T WANT THAT.” _

She was right. Shujin University only let their students retake a failed class once. If the said student didn’t pass it on the second term, they were enlisted to take a **‘Final Nivelation Exam’**. If you didn’t pass the exam, it was game over for your whole career, and you will be expelled from the faculty.

“Come on Haru… You didn’t eliminate all of that… right?” 

She saw him with those eyes which let a creeping feeling over his back. _“What… do you think?”_

_ “Ok, Haru. I’m sure we did start this with the wrong foot but we still can save this. Now, if you want I can…” _

She stood up from the seat in front of her pc. _“OH, SO NOW YOU WANT TO HELP ME, RIGHT?”_

_ “Haru. Calm down. We still have two days.” _

_ “NO! I WON’T CALM DOWN! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT REN AMAMIYA! YOU NEED TO LEARN WHEN TO BE A NORMAL PERSON AND NOT A DOUCHEBAG!” _

_ “Hey, I’m not a douchebag. I’m just doing what is best for me.” _

_ “OH?! SO BEING AN ASSHOLE AND NOT PASSING THIS CLASS IS BEST FOR YOU?! DON’T MAKE ME LAUGH!” _

_ “Woah. Stop there. Of course, I want to pass. You think being Sakura’s assistant is easy?! You have no idea.” _

_ “BOO HOO! THE PERSON WHO NEEDS TO HELP HIS PROFESSOR SAYS IS NOT EASY! YOU PET!” _

It was time for Ren to raise his voice. _“PET?! YOU SAYING I’M A PET?! OK HARU, THAT WAS UNCALLED-FOR!”_

_ “OF COURSE I’M SAYING YOU’RE A PET! HOW IT CAN BE THAT YOU CAN SLEEP IN CLASS, NOT NEED TO TURN IN WHATEVER SAKURA’S BALD HEAD SAYS AND NO NEED TO DO ANYTHING AT ALL?! IS BECAUSE YOU’RE A PET! SIMPLE AS THAT!” _

He started to rage. Not only to Haru but to himself.

_ “YOU THINK I’LL LOVE TO BE HIS ASSISTANT OF ALL THE POSITIONS I CAN GET IN THIS COLLEGE?! YOU’RE WRONG! HE’S THE MEANEST MOST BORING PROFESSOR I KNOW IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!” _

_ “THEN WHY ARE YOU STILL THERE?! YOU CAN EASILY GO AND CHANGE PROFESSORS!” _

_ “BECAUSE I CAN’T. I’M IN DEBT WITH HIM BECAUSE OF MY PROBATION!” _

_ “PROBATION?! WHAT?! ARE YOU A DELINQUENT?!” _

_ “NO, IT’S JUST A MINOR CHARGE! I’M STILL HERE IN THIS UNI, REMEMBER? I WOULDN’T BE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE IF SOJIRO DIDN’T STOOD UP FOR ME AND HELP ME COVER THE INCIDENT FROM MY PARENTS! “ _

_ “OH COME ON! DON’T TELL ME I WORKED AROUND ALMOST 4 MONTHS WITH SOMEONE SO LAID OFF THAT HE WENT, GOT A CRIMINAL CHARGE, TOOK COLLEGE SO NONCHALANT, AND AFTERWARDS I FELL IN LOVE WITH SAID PERSON?! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!” _

Time for Ren to get surprised. _“YOU WHAT?!”_

_ “YES. I SAID IT. I LOVE YOU. FINE. YOU GET IT?! IT WAS NICE HAVING SOMEONE CUTE AND SO LAID OFF TO WORK WITH BUT YOU BECAME THE BIGGEST, MEANEST AND OBVIOUSLY, MOST WHINIEST PERSON I EVER MET!” _

_ “WHINY?! WHINY?! YOU ARE THE WHINIEST PERSON OF THEM ALL! YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO LEVEL SCHEDULES! YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO PREPARE EVERYTHING FOR A VIDEO CONFERENCE -which Sakura already knows how- AND ALSO YOU DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE SO CUTE AND TO ALSO BE THE PERSON I FELL IN LOVE TO!” _

Roles reversed, Haru was surprised. _“WHAT?!”_

_ “THERE. I SAID IT TOO. YOU’RE A FUN PERSON TO DEAL WITH, YOUR SMILE IS CUTE, YOU HAIR IS CUTE AND YOU’RE GOOD UNDER PRESSURE! BUT THAT WAS UNTIL NOW! NOW YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE I KNOW WHO DIDN’T TOOK THAT SPECIAL COURSE LAST SEMESTER WHEN EVERYBODY IN THE CLASS TOOK IT. THEREFORE, YOU HAD PROBLEMS WITH SOME THINGS SAKURA TOLD ME TO GAVE YOU BECAUSE HE THOUGHT YOU CAN HANDLE IT EFFORTLESSLY! _

And they were off. A discussion so intense between the two. Marking each of their faults, from Ren’s laziness to Haru’s overconfidence. From how Sakura abuses his power by using Ren as a method to weed out the people on each class, to the fact Haru was barely ending her second semester on Shujin. Remarking how Ren’s experience working with Sakura didn’t help her personal growth at all, to Haru’s quirkiness when touching themes she wasn’t familiarized at all.

Until they stopped. Looking at each other so carefully. Their rage completely composed.

**And then… they kissed.** A kiss so passionate both let some little moans come out of their hunger for each other. Ren’s hands exploring Haru’s back under the hoodie while Haru took the matter to herself and held herself with his hair.

They gasped for air once their faces separated. Once recovered, Haru sent him a look while holding his hand and walking back into her room. Ren stopped himself at the door frame. 

_ “You sure?” _

_ “I’m pretty sure, Ren.” _

_ “You got protection, right? If not, I can get some and-” _

She cut him with another kiss. Once she left his lips, he saw the ‘mean look’ from moments ago. But now, it was eager, full of seduction and desire. Something that made his legs weak. Thank god Ren was holding himself with support of the door frame.

_ “You gonna listen to anything I’ll say, ok?” _

He nodded.

_ “One, there’s a reason why Ryuji stays a lot with Mako. Even when he’s got a roommate and his own room in Shujin. And he doesn’t know that Mako talks about some ‘things’ they do in her room. She’s pretty conscious of protection. And she’s always caring for me and whatever happens in my life. I’m pretty sure you know what that means, right?” _

He slightly nodded, blushing a little bit at that question.

_ “Two, Mako knew about how I think of you many times and she helped a lot into this. Even if that meant midterms coming down and almost losing my head. She’s not here right now for a reason. You understand?” _

Ren nodded for the third time today.

_ “Now, I’m sure you want this as much as am I. I need to release some stress and I need to quit being a perfect student for a while. But I know you maybe don’t want to take a step. So I’ll ask you -and be in mind that thing I’ll say after that, you follow- _

**_You want to step inside?”_ **

He thought of everything. He thought of her. And slowly took a step, then another, and closed the door behind him.

_ “Good. Now be quiet and talk when I’ll tell you. Get it?” _

_ “Yes, Haru.” _

A giggle and the sound of clothes falling into the floor were the only things beyond the door.

But were only the beginning of something more.

* * *

As the dawn came through the window and let his rays cover some of the clothes over the floor. the soft sounds of Haru dreaming flooded the room after a night of ‘funny things’, as she would call it. Ren saw her face breathing softly and knew that a struck of luck after many bad turns was a nice changing pace. Also, the sheets were even softer than the ones in his room.

As he reached for his phone -nicely put beside Haru’s on the nightstand-, he knew that the sudden kindness she showed not only last night but all the time he was with her, needed to be reciprocated. 

A quick run for his boxer briefs, some light touches over the screen, and after a couple seconds, a voice came out on the other side. He sat over the edge of the bed watching over Haru, who took a Jack Frost plushie as a replacement for the heat of his body.

_“Sup’!”_ The voice of Futaba over the line gave away how much caffeine was on her system.

Whispering as to not wake up Haru, _“Sup ‘taba. The line is secure?”_

_ “Lemme’ check.”  _ Only a few seconds of securing the line -which later Haru knew was Futaba looking if her father was still asleep- were enough to her to respond. 

_ “Line secure and ready. Oi, you good last night? The metrics of your phone went crazy for a long time. Especially the gyroscope, damn~ You scored?” _

After a big blush and checking if Haru was still asleep. His whispers became even more whispering.

_ “I rather not talk about it. And don’t make a fuss too. Don’t want Sojiro to come for me and kill me with his bald head.” _

_ “Hehehehe~ I got you. So, what do I own the morning call? You got 20 minutes before my seeding gets done and the current server is down. Hurry up, foo.” _

_ “Still doing the work? Geez, ok. Still, this going much faster than when you tried to take down Shujin with ducks.” _

_ “Hey! That was a great idea. Not my fault their APACHE is so old and your phone is a spaceship compared to their database! Besides they-” _

_ “Yeah, yeah, yeah. They are ‘a pair of socks and you’re the champion of justice’. Came for a favor or rather a pep talk, you tell me.” _

_ “Jeez, this audience is bad.” _

_“Whatever… “_ Another quick look to Haru, who now was trying to grab something on her sleep after she threw the Jack Frost. He went to her side and let her embrace him. Putting a smile on his face as the soft breathes and dreams came back.

_ “Hello, you there? Renren?” _

_ “I’m here. Sorry, a quick grab on her sleep.” _

_ “Oooooh~ So you score. Cool, cool! Inari owns me food for the rest of the year. Mwa ha ha!” _

_ “Sure, let your boyfriend get more pizza sticks. Anyway, ‘taba…” _

_ “Yup.” _

_ “I need you to take out the project and change a name to it.” _

_ “What project?” _

_ “Y’know. The project. That project. The project I was doing for Sojiro. That project I was doing for Sojiro. “ _

_ “Which one?” _

_ “Ugh… Not make me say the name.” _

_ “You know I don’t know what are you talking about unless you say the name.” _

A sigh let out the ridiculous name she choose for it.

_ “The ‘ **I can’t believe this is a Bruh moment’** project.” _

_ “Oh, right. The project. The project for Sojiro, the project chosen especially to please Sojiro, Sojiro’s project.” _

_ “Yep, you are done with it?” _

_ “Haven’t touched since you let me store it in my cloud. Which name are we changing?” _

_ “The other name, y'know. She who must not be named.” _

_ “Oh! That serious? K’, she’s pwned now. Which name goes?” _

_ “Haru Okumura.” _

_ “Alright, done, and done.” _

_ “Wait, do you know how to spell it?” _

_ “Joker… I’ll already know who you speaking, bruh.” _

_ “Fine. Pass it as the midterm with the final date and send it 10 minutes before he closes the entry on the system. Just do your things and look for it. Let Sojiro know she’s going to be cool in college. Later I’ll get your gift card for the gacha.” _

_ “A pleasure as always, Ren. Love ya’ big bro.” _

_ “Love ya’ lil’ sis.” _

As the light faded out of the screen, Haru started waking up so gently. a sign that maybe it was time for him to head out. Even if Ren didn’t want to.

She laid her head on his chest, doing small circles with her free hand over his arm.

_“Hey,”_ Ren spoke first.

_“Hey…”_ Haru still groggy, but now awake.

_ “Good sleep?” _

_ “Good sleep…” _

_ “I’m glad.” _

_ “I’m glad too.” _

A few minutes went by and soon the alarm on Ren’s phone pointed at 8am. It was Saturday, so they knew that the alarm was there for another reason. After he hit ‘snooze’, he finally told her what she wants.

_ “Haru… about last night I…” _

_ “Shhh… Is not all your fault. Mine too.” _

_ “You sure?” _

_ “Mmhm. Besides, I got a lot of fun and my heart is happy. That’s all that matters.” _

_ “... right.” _

_ “So… Want breakfast?” _

_ “Hope that is a plate of ‘I deleted all our work last night’ with a side of ‘Ahhhh why god’” _

Only took a few seconds to Haru to fully realize what he said. She stood up while on the bed and you can see the terror of her face. Only to her to fully cover her face with the pillow, muffling a scream.

_ “Hey, if you need help: I’ll already get a backup for Sakura.” _

She took out the pillow from her face.

_ “Really?” _

_ “Yep. Is already done and up for review. Futaba is making the hard work, but I’ll assure you that the project is 100.” _

_ “100? Wait, is the reason why you didn’t pass the class in the first place?” _

_ “Of course. Let’s just say that sometimes a broken heart can lead to the craziest mood swings ever.” _

Ren was smacked with the same pillow.

_ “Don’t play with my heart then, Ren. Or else…” _

He chuckled. _“Don’t worry. I’ll already saw that yesterday. Please, tell me you don’t have an axe laying around here.”_

_ “An axe?” _

_ “Forget it. Want breakfast?” _

_ “Well.. since you are already paying for it. I’m in.” _

_ “Paying for it?! What are you…” _

The look of ‘Danger’ from last night came into place. Until Haru started to laugh after seeing Ren’s mortified face.

_ “Don’t do that. Sooner than later I’ll grow out of it and the fear will be gone.” _

_ “I know. Better use it as much as I can.” _

They started to laugh as they searched for their clothes.

**Haru Okumura wasn’t a morning person, until now.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, did you know the acceptance rate for TokyoU is almost 35%? While WasedaU (the number 2 college in Tokyo) is 17%? Unreal numbers. Although as sources say, TokyoU is more demanding than Waseda. Maybe that’s why TokyoU is number 1.
> 
> Chapter 3 is on the works, the other 4 are still floating in the air. At least the last chapter is going to be something pulled from my drafts. I promised to check my folders more often.
> 
> Thanks for reading.


	3. New for you, not for me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Waiting? What are you talking about?”
> 
> “I’m talking exactly about waiting. Waiting for something to come true and finally realize how your desire is the one thing you need to keep walking. Waiting for a routine to become boring. Waiting for everything to become perfect as it is. Only to realize that desire is flawed, that routine is dying. Melting everything into despair.”
> 
> “Kitten? You alright?”
> 
> “I am. The question is… are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Royal heavy spoilers (sort of). Third semester spoilers as well. Repetition sells.

Steamy, clean, bitter, with chocolate notes at the end… but rather bland.

This was the first cup of coffee that Haru Okumura had this morning. But, for her, to be rather bland and simple was boring. Really, really boring. Nonetheless, she prepared for her morning, another one in her new College. To be honest, she didn’t expect to let her mornings became a routine after all the excitement and bravery she had with her phantom thief side last year.

_“Haru! Is time to leave!”_

A deep voice called her out of the kitchen. For her, this was something that she already got used to. Waking up, getting ready for college, eat a simple breakfast, and then get out at the same time as her father, Kunikazu.

For some, being with your father and to let him adjust his schedule to your day is a weird method to live your life. But for Haru, it was a simple gesture for him to recover the lost years before Shido and his wrongdoings. Besides, while she wanted to walk and try to get a normal “method” to get to her classes, she wouldn’t refuse the fact that her father is trying his best. After all, he almost died because of that ‘day’.

She got into the living room and into the massive door leading into the main driveway, where his father stood. Always radiant, she got into the car and waited for her father to give the signal to the driver.

She took the time while the car went into her college campus to send a text to certain someone, very special to her heart.

**[NOIR]** Good morning~ Already got in the car, love you! <3

It didn’t take much for him to respond.

**[JOKER]** Morning! Glad you got in your way. I just got into class. Love you too.

It was their ritual. Ren getting into his class before her. She didn’t believe it when he told her how he convinced his parents to let him take his last year of high school, something that made her so happy that she almost exploded in happiness. Haru promised herself to fully enjoy her time to him, and he promised to always be with her. Is was almost like a wedding vow, some will say.

His father gave her his goodbyes when she finally got into the campus. TokyoU was a prestigious university, one of many challenges and with full integration into society. Haru finally saw her having a normal and peaceful life, something she thought wouldn’t happen if that former ‘person’ was still with her and if she didn’t take her life back as Noir.

But as soon as she took her seat in the room for her first class, the memory of that bland cup of coffee was on her mind. Something to be remembered.

* * *

Hot, tart, sweet, with citrus notes at the end… but rather boring.

This was the first cup of coffee that Haru Okumura had today. But, for her, to be rather flat and straightforward was dull. Really, really dull. Nonetheless, she started her morning, another one in her College. To be frank, she didn’t expect to let her mornings became a pattern after all the excitement and courage she lived with her phantom thieves last year.

_“Haru! We got to go!”_

A deep voice called her out of the kitchen. For her, this was something that she already got used to. Waking up, getting ready, eat some breakfast, and then get out at the same time as her father, Kunikazu.

For some, being with your father and to let him adjust his time to your day is a weird method of living. But for Haru, it was a simple signal for him to recover the lost years before Shido and his wrongdoings. Besides, while she wanted to walk and try to use mass transportation to her classes, she wouldn’t refuse the fact that her father is trying his best. After all, he almost died.

She got into the living room and into the door leading into the driveway, where his father stood. Always joyful to be with her daughter, she got into the car and waited for her father to give the signal to the driver.

She took the time while the car went into her college campus to send a text to certain someone, very special to her heart.

**[NOIR]** Morning~ On my way to class, love you so much!! <3

It didn’t take much for him to respond.

**[JOKER]** Morning love~ Glad you woke up. Headroom teach is coming. Love you!

It was their ritual. Ren getting into his class before her. She didn’t believe it when he told her how he persuaded his parents to let him take his last year of high school, something that made her so jolly that she almost died with a smile. Haru told herself to fully taste their time and he promised to care for her. Is was almost like a marriage declaration, some said.

His father gave her his goodbyes when she finally got into the campus. SeitokuU was a prestigious university, one of the many obstacles in her life and with deep roots within society. Haru finally saw her having a normal and peaceful life, something she thought wouldn’t happen if that former ‘scum’ was still with her and if she didn’t take her life back as The Beauty Thief.

But as soon as she took her seat in the room for her first class, the memory of that bland cup of coffee was on her thoughts. Coming from the back of her memories into the spotlight.

* * *

Cold, smoky, equilibrated, with fresh aftertaste… but rather dull.

This was the first cup of coffee that Haru Okumura had today. But, for her, to be rather soulless and easy was monotonous. Really, really monotonous. Nonetheless, she started her morning, another in her College. To be candid, she didn’t expect to let her mornings became a standard after all the elation and boldness she lived last year.

“Haru! Time to go!”

A deep voice called her out of the kitchen. For her, this was something that she already got used to. Waking up, eat, and then get out at the same step as her father, Kunikazu.

For some, stay with your father and to let him adjust his life to the day is a weird way to express life. But for Haru, it was a simple motion for him to recover the bond before that politician. Besides, while she wanted to walk and try to use the subway to her campus, she wouldn’t refuse the fact that her father is trying. After all, he died and came back.

She came out of the kitchen and walked into the driveway, where his father stood. Always merry to see her daughter, she got into her and waited for her father to give the signal to move.

She took her phone while the car went into campus to send a text to certain someone, very special to her.

**[NOIR]** Kitten~ I’m already on campus, hope you had a great day! Much love! <3

It didn’t take much for him to respond. But this time… was different.

**[JOKER]** Sheep. We need to talk. Try something new. Come to Leblanc after class. I’ll be there.

Weird text coming from Ren.

It was their ritual. Ren getting into class before her, texting in their free hours, and then talk at the end of the day. She didn’t believe it when he told her how he chose Tokyo for his last year in high school, so surprising that she almost died in pure bliss. Haru told herself to love him and he promised to love her. Is was almost like he was becoming her boyfriend, some said.

His father gave her his goodbyes when she finally got into the campus. KeioU was a prestigious university, her next step into the future and into society. Haru finally saw her having a life, something she thought wouldn’t happen if that ‘fiance’ was still with her, and if she didn’t take her life back.

But as soon as she took her seat in the room for her class, the memory of that monotonous cup of coffee and the text message of Ren was on her thoughts. Coming from the back of her memories into the spotlight. Later today was her and Ren in Leblanc.

Hope the next cup isn’t so bland.

* * *

Leblanc. Such a place hasn’t changed in the time since the fight on Christmas day. Normally, this would be a place of refuge after the closing hours. Even more when Ren changed rooms and finally got settled down on Sojiro’s house. But today, Leblanc is a place of worry. Haru got that message into her mind all the time in her classes. Even when she tried to ask Ren about what did exactly meant with that text, the only thing he responded was:

**[JOKER]** Don’t worry. I’ll see you at Leblanc.

Such an ominous tone for a text, she said while taking the subway out of HoseiU’s Boissonade Tower. And while the anxiety grew with each station she passed and each stop she walked into Yongen-Jaya, she took a few deep breaths while walking between the stairs and Leblanc’s.

As soon the door opened and the bell broke the silence, sweet smells of the famous curry came to her, something to soothe her mind plagued with so many doubts. Leblanc curry wasn’t boring. Not at all.

_“I’m home?”_ She tried to convey some silliness to cover her nerves.

A familiar hair came out of the kitchen, then a face, a smile, and a beautiful sight.

_“Hello, home. I’m Ren.”_ Haru did a little pout to his awful joke. He laughed.

He returned to the kitchen, probably cooking another batch of curry.

She took a seat in the booth in the perfect view of the kitchen. Watching her ‘boyfriend’ moving the ladle and looking stunning as always with his dark green apron. Seeing him work with the flow and enjoying what he does brings her a sense of relief. Ren went by many hurdles on his stay in Tokyo and she thought his probation would be a decisive factor to change his personality. After all, killing a god is one of the things someone in probation would do, right?

Thinking about it gave Haru a slight headache. She let it slide to finally ask Ren about the text.

_“So… What’s this new stuff you text me about?”_

He turned his head to see her. 

_“New stuff?”_

_“Yeah. It was weird seeing what you wrote. But if you had something new to show me, I’m all eyes.”_

He gave the curry another taste before finally be satisfied with it and let the big batch of food simmer. As soon as he left the kitchen, he got a small coffee bag from the counter. He started to grind the beans, got them to a rough texture, and let the water start to boil.

_“Well, you are always saying how we need to expand our palate if you want to become a cafe owner one day. So… I thought you could get something new from a simple cup of coffee.”_

Haru crooked her head in disbelief.

_“That’s it.”_

_“Yup.”_

_“So the text didn’t mean anything.”_

_“Maybe.”_

_“So it was a joke?”_

_“Kinda. What did you think?”_

She finally surrendered to the smirk Ren gave her and let out a big sigh. At least those bad feelings went away quickly. Although the only time he let out such crude humor was after the hard interrogation he suffered in November. So maybe he’s hiding something...?

Another headache for Haru. This time, a little bit stronger than last time.

_“You alright Sheep?”_ He saw her with tenderness, she knew that Ren would do anything for her well-being.

_“Yeah. Kinda. Is just I have a little headache, that’s all.”_

_“Don’t worry. It’ll pass by. Here, my lady. Your cup of the day.”_

He put the cup in front of her with a flourish, always with the ‘gentleman’ mask, one that he showed to each client in Leblanc. She blushed a little bit at the gesture, but everything changed when her lips got a sip of the coffee.

It was pure, clean, mint aftertaste, and seriously delicious. The best coffee cup she could have right now. It was something simple but not bland. It was strong without becoming boring after each sip. Moreover, it was she needed the most right now. 

_“Wow. This coffee… Ren!”_

He turned from the kitchen fridge, where he was doing a checkup of the ingredients of the curry.

_“Did you like it?”_ Ren closed the fridge to finally sit in front of her.

_“Of course! I haven’t had a cup so special and savory for a long time!”_

_“Glad you like it.”_

Haru had a little headache out of his answer. Which soothed with another sip.

_“I haven’t got time to finally use these beans, y’ know. But I think you need something new for now. Waiting is something too tired to do, my lovely sheep.”_

_“Waiting? What are you talking about?”_

_“I’m talking exactly about waiting. Waiting for something to come true and finally realize how your desire is the one thing you need to keep walking. Waiting for a routine to become boring. Waiting for everything to become perfect as it is. Only to realize that desire is flawed, that routine is dying. Melting everything into despair.”_

_“Kitten? You alright?”_

_“I am. The question is… are you?”_

Another strong headache made Haru shiver with the pain. She tried to calm herself by sipping again. It calmed the dizziness as well as the throbbing that came with it.

_“Kitten… Are you hiding something?”_

_“I’m not hiding anything. But you are hiding a lot of things, my love.”_

_“Kitten?”_

Another headache. This one the strongest of them all. He stood by her side and gave her a deep kiss. Took his apron and folded it. Leaving it nice and tidy over her cup.

_“Haru…I got to go. Whatever it happens, remember that I’ll always love you. Remember me.”_

He started to walk into the stairs of Leblanc, without looking behind. As his eyes glowed yellow and a blue fire started to enveloped him with each step up. She tried to grab him but he was gone. She looked for him but the pain on her head stopped her from doing it. It was too strong.

_“Ren! Where are you?! Ren!”_

She gave the cup one more final sip. And then the headache stopped. But the world changed around her. Leblanc was different, totally different. Sayuri wasn’t over the wall. The coffee wall changed names every few seconds. The curry pot started to break down like a clay pot. The world outside of the cafe was totally blank. leading into a void. It was then when her father came through the door.

_“Father? Why are you here…? Why are...”_ She tried to stand and walk to him but the dizziness came again and she almost fell down into the floor if not for her father catching her. Another pulse of pain came into her senses. 

“ _Shhhh. Don’t worry Haru. Your mother and I will be watching you, always.”_

_“Father, I-”_

Her headache became so unbelievable painful. She didn’t hear the steps from behind her. And didn’t saw the red gloves pointing a gun into her father’s head.

_“Please. Take care of her,”_ said her father.

_“I will, Mr. Okumura.”_ said the figure behind her.

The headache gave her the sensation of everything breaking out in pieces. Which it was.

Until the sound of a gunshot, her scream, and then silence. Leblanc faded to black, into the void. A crack was visible in the little specks of light in the center of it.

* * *

As the soft sounds of Haru sleeping flooded the room of Ren in Sojiro’s house, one thing was true, everything she lived until today was gone. The times with her father after his palace. The memories she made with Ren once he presented himself to him. The times she lived as a normal person in college. Everything after that mythic shot in the sky to the God of Control was erased. 

But as Ren saw her from the seat of his work desk, he was confident that she was finally here. With him. With all of them.

Ren turned his chair and took a deep breath to finally let the air out while calling for Arsene, who, as a noble partner appeared at his side. Ren nodded, and the charcoal wings of Arsene lift it up from his side into the sky. With a flick and a twist, a crimson shroud covered all of the houses. Leaving the rays of the sunrise to shower it as gently as can be.

Ren took another look at his journal and finally scribbled something of his interest.

Day 17 ~ Morgana came back to his senses. Operation: Sashimi complete.

Day 29 ~ Ryuji got his resolve. Operation: Bolt complete.

Day 42 ~ Ann finally made peace with herself. Operation: Ignis complete.

Day 55 ~ Yusuke destroyed his art block. Operation: Ratio complete

Day 68 ~ Makoto shot her fears. Operation: Beat complete

Day 81 ~ Futaba found her mother. She’s happy. Operation: Featherman complete.

Day 93 ~ Operation Noir started

Day 97 ~ First intel acquired

Day 103 ~ First contact with Haru

Day 109 ~ First contact with Kunikazu

Day 121 ~ My heart and my soul are back. Operation: Amor complete

He closed the journal. Relieved of all the stress he had since this whole reality began.

After a quick text to the group to finally announce that he got Haru back, Ren looked at her once more.

There’s still one more person to save. One more reality to break. But for now, he could rest. Who could believe that the same coffee beans from the day he confessed to Haru had such importance to her?

Day 122 of the Reality. Operation: Garden of Eden Start. 

Ren couldn’t know what to expect from the man in the white tower looming over Tokyo and certainly doesn’t know how is Kasumi and how Akechi is still here after Shido’s. One truth remains, he will pay to let his friends fall slowly into repetition.

**Repetition sells, but sooner than later, everyone will have it. Who will buy it once they realize repetition is the only thing everyone has in the world?**

**Third semester/Warped reality/Time Loop AU: As a different reality made from the desires of his friends changes her views into the future and with some convincing from Akechi, Ren starts a mega operation to get the thieves back from those distorted desires before is too late. As a defense method, Takuto Maruki reboots each day when Ren tries to interfere with each reality. But a the same time, changes some elements of their desires as hurdles for Ren.**

**This happens before the final dungeon of P5R.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each Operation’s name has something to do with each thief.  
> Sashimi = Tuna sushi. Morgana is a ‘cat cat not cat’, remember?  
> Bolt = Because of the ‘fastest man alive’, the athlete Usain Bolt.  
> Ignis = Fire in latin. The element of Ann’s persona.  
> Ratio = The Golden ratio of nature. I know Yusuke could took the ratio into everything. Even how he sleeps.  
> Beat = Kitano ‘Beat’ Takeshi, famous japanese director/actor. Known for his Yakuza films and the Outrage saga.  
> Featherman = Because featherman. And Tokusatsu. By the way, watch Kamen Rider right now.  
> Amor = ‘Love’ in spanish.
> 
> Thanks for reading. Honeymoon is next. Sweet, sweet, floofy fluff.


	4. Earl Grey MarTEAni

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after another night in the honeymoon of the Amamiya/Okumura marriage.
> 
> She didn't expect that something too good to be true to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things happened. But don't worry, everything is fine now.
> 
> Needless to say, a simple fluff chapter is tough to imagine then to make it into words.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter, here's hoping the next one comes out my laptop much sooner than later.
> 
> Stay safe. Wear your mask. Wash your hands.

She could get used to this.

To the fact that his boyfriend -excuse you, now husband- was sleeping peacefully over her chest. while she was running her fingers through his rebellious hair. The fact that coming to this exact scene took him a lot of glasses and a strange series of events from last night. Being honest, she expected this to happen. From the times she saw him walking the hallways of Shujin facing those who talked behind his back -or even in front of him-, watching him like a pariah, a delinquent, and someone to be afraid of.

It then went to the famous Phantom Thieves, the famous vigilantes who changed hearts and got their lives at risk to let people to a better future. But she didn’t know the size of that until she knew Mona and saw first-handed the dangers of changing hearts. She didn’t expect to find love on their debonair leader but also didn’t expect her father to be on the crossfire of a war between his future boyfriend at the time and a politician -later to be known to be the puppet of an old god-.

Finally, the ‘perfect reality’ he saw unfolding by his own eyes. She felt the pain of losing another life with her father but what had to be, had to be. She had the privilege of seeing him riding the waves between being a student, a barista, and the powerful leader of a gang that changed the world. Yes, she had money, her persona but also the fact that her feelings were reciprocated when she asked him about it, but nothing can repair the deep wounds made by years of negligent parenting, one manipulated police file, saving the world plus been at the edge of losing everything each time he got into the metaverse.

She always was fascinated with her calm exterior, grounded mind with a future-proof walk of life. Something very natural since he juggled between being Ren Amamiya and Joker, but she never knew how he would react to the liquid that released the locks of topics he didn’t want to say… or do: Earl Grey Martinis. A concoction was so simple yet so refreshing that Haru actually didn’t drink a lot after the first glass. 

Except that Ren didn’t stop. And after the fourth glass, he changed… for good.

Haru didn’t expect her husband to be more assertive on his affection -pampered her with kisses and suggestive touches under the table that remind her of their wedding night- or the fact he loved karaoke so much that when the bar announced their ‘karaoke amateur night’ he immediately went above and beyond to win first place with his performance of ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ along with a beautiful rendition of ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’. She wasn’t the only woman in that bar who blushed after that, let me tell you that.

Furthermore, the excitement of danger while making out inside of one of the bathroom stalls made her heart soar so high that it reminded her of her college days when Ren finally moved from Inaba. While her ruffled hair and smudged lipstick on his boyfriend -wait, husband now- gave away the storm of pleasure to come after they left the bar and walked hand in hand -with kisses in between- to their room, the night ended abruptly once he laid out on the bed. Totally sleeping, snoring, with no energy whatsoever.

At least it was easy to take his clothes off and finally push it into his side of the bed, only for him to rest over her and let her soft snoring make a duet with his big snore orchestra.

As the sounds of birds came through the window, as much she wanted to enjoy this honeymoon -and rather, this exact morning- in silence, the outside world was still moving on their own, something that made her very touchy. Ren had felt it too since he was finally starting to wake up. If you can call a hangover the best alarm clock in the world.

His head, heavy. His mind, cloudy. His body, in pain. A weak grunt came out of his mouth, all while Haru let go of his hair and rested her hand over his back. She had some sleep, but the fact she didn’t fall down into the clutches of the martinis gave her a good midday morning.

_“Good morning…”_ Her sweet voice didn’t change the sight of him trying to get back to sleep, another side effect of drinking too much last night. A soft grunt became his response, resulting in a small chuckle from her.

_“You know… You should leave the martinis behind for a while.”_

He didn’t say anything, burying his head in her chest as an answer. Trying to escape from the rays of sun flooding the bedroom. Another chuckle from Haru was good, but his head didn’t like the vibrations of her happiness.

_“Must… sleep. Just… sleep.”_ The muffled gruff voice of Amamiya tried to get some sense out of the scene. Only leading to him finally leaving the chest of his wife and trying to rest on the other side of the bed, extra pillow over him for a little more darkness.

She cuddled with him for a little bit, until a quick trip to the bathroom finally let into jumpstart her day. She didn’t want to start the day after all. But he wouldn’t fully ‘recover’ from the troublesome drinks and certainly, he would do the same if the hangover was over her.

A quick glass of water from the main fridge of the kitchen and a simple pair of aspirins were the first trip outside of the main bedroom. It was a good idea to rent a house rather than buy one, said his husband before deciding to spend an entire month to only themselves. While being in New York City gave them a lot of things to do, the hangover was the best excuse to not leave the room.

She put the glass and the pills on the nightstand beside him, taking her time to scratch his head. Ren letting out a sigh of bliss. He truly was like a cat, the direct opposite of Morgana. He washed the aspirins and tried to open his eyes to no avail. Headache in sync of his heartbeat but slowly fading away. He soon will be as good as new, good side effects from their travels into the metaverse. Although that doesn’t fade some of the scars he got from a certain day in November from years ago.

Haru let her cuddling do the talking, Ren turned to her returning the affection and burying his face on her chest. She couldn’t believe that after years of lost causes, political manipulation schemes, a terrible view of marriage, a big terrible view of relationships, and of course, the fact the one person with her right now was her husband. On their honeymoon, just after Valentine’s day, on NYC nonetheless.

And… as if someone just read her mind.

_“I still can’t believe that I’m here,”_ Ren said as he moved his view without leaving his lover’s chest.

She let out a chuckle. _“Well, you got a lot of martinis last night, it's obvious you don’t know where you were.”_

He gave her a little pout. _“Not about that, honey. I’m talking of being here, married to you.”_

He left his wife’s embrace to sit on the edge of the bed. Haru loved so much the view of seeing him stretching each morning. While most of the scars of that room faded through the years, still they were some who would last far beyond tomorrow. She scooted to lay her head over his back and let her hear his heartbeat. Their morning routine, ever since that day after the interrogation. She needed to be sure he was alive, he was well and he was with her. Years after, he made sure to let her do it. After all, he doesn’t like to see her tears.

_“How much did I drink last night?”_ Ren felt some remnants of the hangover, at least the headache wasn’t drilling his mind but the dehydration and hunger lingered side to side with his fatigue.

She didn’t leave his back, listening to his heartbeat as normal. _“Like 6 or 7, as much.”_

He turned to see her giggling like crazy, since his heartbeat rise because of the embarrassment, she loved that. Never in a million years she would laugh and be happy that her husband -wow, she finally said it right- was Ren Amamiya.

_“That much. Jeez, I haven’t done that since our wedding.”_

_“But you liked them so much. Even the bartender loved seeing you asking for one more while we were leaving.”_

He let out a sarcastic grumble. Only feeding more of her laugh.

_“I’m going to be more careful with liquor from now on,”_ He finally stood out of bed and turned to see his wife, still wearing one of his t-shirts. A little bit more fitted for her figure, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. Not that he was complaining. _“because if I don’t do it, my wife is going to protect me a little too well.”_

She continued laughing until it clicked. She saw him with surprise. 

_“Say it again.”_ Haru said while slowly crawling to the edge of the bed.

_“What? That you are going to protect me? I mean, that’s the same thing I’m going to do when…”_

_“No! The other part! The one you said when you turned around!”_

Then it clicked. It was the first time he said it. The magic word that didn’t come out of his mouth until now.

_“My… wife.”_

Her heart soared and took the initiative for this time. Not only took Ren back into the bed but also gave him the biggest and most passionate kiss he ever knew.

Once they parted, reaching for air, the only thing Haru said was:

_“Again.”_

_“My wife.”_

A kiss cut the distance between them.

_“Again.”_

_“My lovely wife.”_

Another kiss came through.

_“Once more.”_

_“My beautiful, strong-willed, charming, stunning, elegant, exquisite, as pretty as a picture wife.”_

This time, a kiss didn’t come out. Tears of joy went down her face. 

_“I can’t… believe…”_

He cleaned her face. Giving a little peck on each cheek.

“ _You better believe it.”_

Haru finally let her tears flow freely. While Ren didn’t like to see her crying, this time was different. But it was time for him to let out his tears.

_“I can’t believe I have the most charming, handsome, attractive, honest to the world husband in front of me.”_

Slowly but surely, tears started to come down from Ren. Never passed by his mind that the parole in Tokyo would start as a normal depressed world and slowly turned into the best experience of his life. Sure, the Velvet Room and the Personas were a constant danger but, if it wasn’t for Ryuji and the Metaverse app booting up that day, he maybe couldn’t have met his real friends and between them, his wife.

Sooner than expected, he took matters into his hands and carried Haru into the bathroom. Princess style, with all the flair a man wearing only a pair of boxers could give.

_“W-W-W-Wait! What are you doing?!”_

_“Well, I sensed that MY WIFE needed a relaxing shower after all that rollercoaster of emotions.”_ A playful stare into Haru let her know his real intentions.

_“Oh… OH!”_

_“That being said, how about I take you to it. As a reward for taking care of your husband, **miss Amamiya**.” _

She giggled and tried to cover the biggest blush ever by burying her face in the nook of his shoulder blade.

_“Of course I want to go. Please, take me to the most relaxing moment of the day, **mister Okumura**.” _

As the laughter carried away by both went down with each step into the bathroom, Haru couldn’t take her eyes from the face of her husband, smiling with thoughtfulness. Who knew that some years ago the dangerous transfer student would fall in love with the rich girl and end married to each other.

Once they reached the bathroom and turned into the shower, a certain t-shirt flew out the room. With the sounds of the running water in the background, sounds of kisses and moans came out in laughs in between.

**30 days of honeymoon. 3 days down, 27 to go.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Believe it or not, the Earl Grey martini is a real cocktail. First invented in Audrey Saunders' Pegu Club in New York City. Sadly it closed in may during the current pandemic.  
> https://www.liquor.com/pegu-club-new-york-closing-4844149
> 
> The idea and this chapter's title came not only on the fact Pegu Club closed but also on the pun of their menu and HowToDrink's video on the drink. https://youtu.be/xAT8iGPDYB8
> 
> Please, if you can, support your local businesses. Either with buying something of their menu, getting their services or as simple as giving a retweet or sharing their posts on social media. You can also ask if you can order directly from them rather than using a third party app.
> 
> Work is next. Maybe with spies? I don't know.
> 
> Mix some kudos with a comment and serve it on a tall glass with a garnish of thank you. Breathe afterwards, be responsible.


	5. Freelancer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Um… Mr. Tomokawa?”
> 
> He stopped at the handle and turned his head. “Yes?”
> 
> She bit her lip but gathered enough courage to let her question fly free as the sun started to rise. 
> 
> “Have I met you before?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Freelance - /ˈfrēˌlans/ - Adjective: working for different companies at different times rather than being permanently employed by one company. 
> 
> Bonus points to those who know some of the names mentioned here. Especially some ones. Yes, those ones. Even the last one who I'm not going to mark. *wink wink*
> 
> Buckle up, grab a snack and some water. This one is a big chapter. :3

Freelance AU: The professional 

“What am I going to do?!” she said while pacing in circles in her own bedroom.

For **Haru Okumura** , this was the worst-case scenario right now. Having this problem happening just before tomorrow’s Okumura Foods gala. For her, this was crucial. 

Not only this gala was her presentation to society, her announcement to become her father’s heiress, and also… the beginning to a life she may -or may not- wanted for many years.

But that came with many problems, from deciding the guest list, the accommodations, the topics, the drinks, the ambiance, and now… the food. The problem with this wasn’t the fact she had to think of the many allergies, not-likes, and the overall theme of the gala into the food. It was the fact she didn’t have a head chef for this occasion. Since obviously, she didn’t account for the plan that the catering service canceled on her… because of ‘political reasons’ they called it. Not only did she have to find a chef in less than 24 hours, but also find someone with enough experience to command a team made out of her kitchen and their reserved chefs.

Father’s personal chef? They asked for a _‘vacation leave’_ and left yesterday to warmer weather. The home chef? Can’t do, my family is on a visit and already got my day off moved to that night. The chef with 3 Michelin stars in Roppongi? A new restaurant with her signature is going to open and she needs to focus on their inauguration. The biggest catering service on the planet who didn’t respond to her mail in the first place? Still not responding to any messages left to them.

She was on the verge of dying -so to speak- asking for any kind of food service -even those online who send her food coupons and sometimes called for a dish from her favorite food truck- to help the crucial portion of the gala… until the inbox of her mail showed her an ad for a _‘Velvet Services’_ company.

Haru was tired because of the long search so didn’t give importance to the junk mail, so she deleted it. Only to appear again. And she deleted it too. To then again appear on her inbox. Deleted again. Back again. Deleted. Back. On and on and on again. She thought at one point that maybe it was a virus inserted into her computer, but she finally gave in to curiosity and clicked over the ad.

_‘Velvet Services’_ was a Freelance company. A new type of working started to gain buzz lately. These companies were only designed to point freelance workers into quick and easy jobs for a nice paycheck without the complex methods behind a contract… while being in a contract with themselves. These companies became a lot more prominent since the technologies around them became efficient and the culture work from other countries bled out into the country. Her father tried them once, but she didn’t know what results gave out to the company.

The page’s design was simple, a mix of blues and masquerade masks that invited the eye to see everything offered in it. After a quick sign on -which terms of service were ironically short and simple- she looked for some of the vacant the company dealt in… until she found it. A chef by the name of **Mao Tomokawa** , 5+ years working as a chef, specialized in catering, large gatherings, and _‘quick kitchen play’_ -she didn’t know what that meant, but she didn’t care-.

It was a shady page to be found out of a sudden, but she was tired, it was 4am, the gala was in 16 hours and this was a blessing from above. She took the application, sending the details of the menu and everything, after a quick chat with their _‘customer service 3000-bot’_ and paying the deposit fee, a classy confirmation mail came across her inbox, and Haru went to bed with the satisfaction of finally solving the problem for today.

_Some hours later..._

This was it. The time of arrival. The ingredients were already brought out. The station was aligned as the mail recommended. The staff was ready to receive their head chef. Haru was a ball of nerves at this point. The gala was stated to start at 8pm so everything needed to be done with exact precision. But she couldn’t stop pacing in her bedroom, earning a small sigh from her assistant.

“Miss Haru, calm down. We still need to see what garments are you wearing for this gala,” said the assistant, who already was makeup ready and just shy from changing into their official gala outfit, classy and stylish, sitting on her bed.

“Is just… If that service doesn’t work? How am I going to know that chef is going to be a great chef? How am I supposed to face Father if this falls down?!” She was ready with her makeup and her hair, but she wanted to see the kitchen staff working before changing into her custom dress, made specifically for this occasion. 

“Relax, miss Haru. Besides, if they _-somehow-_ throw away the entire gala we just get the deposit back, give them a bad review and surely the many guests will blacklist them.”

“I’m sorry… I don’t want Father to be angry about this.”

“It will be alright. Mister Kunikazu will understand the predicaments of this.”

“I hope… But also I want-”

A knock on the door cut her line of thought. One of his servants informed him that a van was waiting at the gates of Okumura Manor. She turned to her assistant and besides giving the order to let him enter, she also told the servant to guide the chef into the kitchen directly.

It didn't take too much for the van to reach the back part of the manor just outside of the kitchen side door. Haru and her assistant waited outside to see the van -black with small red accents, with the company’s logo all over the side- make its turn to open a side door open and led the chef out. Taking not much time to then going back the road and outside the manor.

She was surprised by the looks of the chef. 

Approaching was a man, tall with a slim frame wearing a black bandanna covering his head, a pair of sunglasses covered his face, with the normal chef black coat with his name, the Phantom logo, and the flag of Japan on his shoulders. The work jeans, while not looking practical, were comfy but resistant enough to assure safety from all the hazards in the kitchen, all ending with a pair of classic dark high support-high non-slip chef’s shoes.

He carried a small messenger bag with his name carefully embroidered at the side of the main zipper. On one hand, he had a small silver briefcase. _‘His tools, maybe.’_ she told herself. On the other a small brown bag tied with some kind of rope. _‘Maybe his lunch?’_ , she told herself again. As he slowly walked to Haru and her assistant, she couldn’t shake the idea of how he was going to perform in this situation. This was her first time using a freelancer, and she hoped the price was worthy.

“Okumura Haru?” he asked while taking his shades off. His charcoal eyes gave her a sensation that she knew before. But quickly recovered of the stupor.

“Yes, that’s me. Tomokawa Mao, I presume?”

He nodded and quickly followed to the kitchen that was carefully arranged as per recommendations. After a quick scan of the kitchen _-included burners, ovens, pantry, and the distribution of each station-_ , he finally left his briefcase at the start of the S-shaped route marked by him on the mail last night.

“Everything is good. Now I need you both to leave the kitchen.” His voice changed slightly but at the same time, left a weird impression on her.

“You sure? I mean, we don’t mind seeing a little bit of the preparation of everything before leaving.” said her assistant, taking the words out of her mind.

He opened the briefcase, revealing a set of premium kitchen knives, including a block to hold each one. As he took one of them and started to sharpen it, he let out a whistle to the rest of the staff, who quickly took their stations.

“Unless you want to destroy your expensive manicure while working with us, I suggest both leave the kitchen. Don’t worry, I didn’t make this work for granted.”

He threw the knife up, without any care in the world, all while locking eyes with her. Haru held her ground while her assistant left the kitchen taking care of the dangerous knife in the air. As the knife fell into the block with perfect precision, she left out the breath she was holding. She left the kitchen as he followed with his sight. As soon as she entered her bedroom, she felt the rapid pulse of her heart. Something that she felt many times, years ago.

_After the gala…_

To say the gala was an astonishing success was being too humble on it. Yes, she had to suffer the horrible destiny of being announced as the new fiancee of Naoki Sugimura. Yes, she had to endure the fact her fiance was the worst human known to mankind once the public mask fell down as the doors of the manor closed. Yes, she had to hear the many bad rumors and the gossip about how her father was using her for political reasons. And lastly, she had to see how the many guests of the gala _‘kneeled down’_ to who -in the words of the underground criminal ring that Tokyo and unfortunately her father hosted- was going to be ‘the future of the nation’, **Masayoshi Shido**.

But everything was fine. The food came out exactly as she envisioned. Each plate is an entire experience as the night went on. The time each plate was on the table? Perfect. The way the kitchen moved without any problem whatsoever? Perfect. The many flavors that made the people happy? Perfect. The fact that an extra plate came out of the blue as the gala started their final hour and was exactly her favorite coffee jelly dessert? A finale for the ages.

One could be exhausted from being the host of an event like this, but Haru wasn’t exhausted. With a small coat to beat the cool of the early morning, she was lively thanks to the few champagne glasses that she was forced to drink with some of the important guests in her father’s circle. That helped to step into the kitchen, who just was done with the cleaning and with most of the staff gone by now… except for one person.

“Oh! I didn’t know that you were still here, Mr. Tomokawa.”

He looked none like when she first met him hours ago. The bandanna left out his unwilling dark hair, the circles under his eyes emphasized the tough work of tonight and gave more prominence to the charcoal of his irises, the coat left his body revealing a tight white shirt lightly damped with the sweat of the job. He was seated over the main counter of the kitchen, watching a kettle slowly starting to boil on the main stove in front of him.

“I hoped you don’t mind if I waited here. My transport still hasn’t come and I have no means to move out of here.”

She was going to ask why he didn’t ask her servants first, she could get a driver for him as soon as she sent the word. But she didn’t mind. For some unknown reason, his presence was calming, like the feelings of a lost love long gone in her past. As she took a seat at his side, the kettle let out small wisps of steam, almost indicating that the water was boiling enough.

He stood up and started preparing the french press he got from one from the pantries above the stove. The brown bag he brought with him was coffee, already ground to a fine course, and ready to be prepared into a cup. 

“Can I offer you a cup?”, his tone changed a lot from the overzealous chef that got down the van. She nodded and he got the cups ready while the coffee bloomed and brewed, using his phone as a timer before the plunge. The silence of the air and the cool weather were easily defeated thanks to the cup of coffee, bitter with some chocolate notes, excellent for her taste. Both his and her cup went down in minutes, with no talk in between.

She wanted to ask the dilemma buried deep in her heart, but at the same time, she didn’t want to. At least, she had the ‘professionalism’ mask to use.

“I have to thank you. Is my first time using the service and I’m glad you got everything in place on such short notice.”

He served himself another cup, still watching the kettle now standing on the burner, cooling down. He turned to her, giving a slight bow with his head.

“No problem. The service is there to be used in a hurry. If it wasn’t for them, I couldn’t work around here. Needless to say, both you and I are satisfied with Velvet.”

“That’s strange. I haven’t known a chef with such big credentials who isn't revered by his peers and got into a prestigious restaurant or become famous in this country.” 

“Pressure.”

She choked a little bit on her cup. “Excuse me?”

“There’s always pressure. If you don’t get crushed by it, be sure that the same pressure will change everything in your life. Sooner than later, you will live by the pressure, speak for the pressure, and die by it. And that… can make you do some weird things.”

The tone in which he talked reminded her of a person. _‘Could he be…’_

A honk from a van came behind the back door. A cue for him to leave.

He took his things and just before leaving, he bowed. “Thanks for the work. The company expects a review of my performance so, when you get time, please fill out the form. It would help me so much with my future employment. Also, thanks for the coffee. I was planning on leaving everything clean before I got to leave but this happened sooner than expected.”

He walked to the door. She needed to ask him. _‘Do it now!’_ said her heart.

“Um… Mr. Tomokawa?”

He stopped at the handle and turned his head. “Yes?”

She bit her lip but gathered enough courage to let her question fly free as the sun started to rise. 

**“Have I met you before?”**

She didn’t notice the smirk or the fact he gripped the strap of his messenger bag so hard that his knuckles turned white for a second.

“Have a good night, Miss Okumura.”

He went out of the door. 

She only heard the van leaving down the road. 

Haru only gave him her 5-star rating, no comments. 

It wasn’t until she went to bed that her heart let out the tears she was carrying since he told her goodbye.

* * *

Another problem, another visit to the _‘Velvet services’_ page site.

And then she thought she was seeing him again, this time covered in white overalls with a white shirt, a goatee, a ponytail just topped by a simple hat. But when **Koyomi Igarashi** , a professional interior designer with almost 10 years of experience presented his main painter team for the day, including a person called Rui, she preferred to let the staff work on what was going to be an important task of the manor.

The task? A simple renovation of her bedroom. While the effort would be vain -sort of- thanks to the future wedding and afterward moving into the Sugimura mansion, she needed a change of view. A renovation. It was sad that she would see so little of it but the time was rolling and since Igarashi insisted on changing everything instead of only arranging the furniture and a new coat of paint over the walls during their mail exchange trough Velvet helped a lot with the decision of doing the paint first, furniture the next day.

Haru felt committed to seeing how the process was going but each time she tried to knock, the door opened so quickly to let Igarashi pass. His resilience was something too much for her. _‘One must not intervene with the creative process of an artist!’_ he shouted almost immediately, as with a broken record she talked. Haru didn't understood how someone with a thin frame, dark blue hair and single obsession for Jagariko could be this... passionate for interior design. 

After the fifth time on the day, she finally gave up. Letting the sounds of paint, ladder, furniture arrangement and mostly silence, filled the corridors leading to her bedroom.

It was past midnight when they finally ended. Igarashi planned the next and final day with Haru’s assistant as Rui was waiting for the van to take them both out. He was walking with darker tones of paint, some reds, browns, yellows, and some specks of blue covering most of his _-former-_ white overalls. 

She tried to get to him and asking about the way he painted the room -mostly because of Igarashi’s indications- but the fact the same designer got into her path to talk about the final _‘aesthetic and general flow of the bedroom’_ left her with no way to ask him that question that plagued her mind since she saw him that morning.

The van came in time to take the staff and their designer back into the main office. She gave each one of them her thanks, each one responding accordingly -even Rui- to her misfortune.

He wouldn’t come the next day. As the paint team finished their labor in time and the furniture her assistant ordered -per Igarashi's directions- came in time, Haru was forced to see the final result only after him and his entire decoration team left the state.

It wasn’t the color palette of the walls. Neither the carefully arranged victorian-style bed desk combo brought to local businesses or the fact the space left by the old furniture -who was now on a new studio and the old bed frame disarmed and left on the guest room- gave way into a nice mini tea gazebo in the main balcony of the room that she liked the most.

She liked the painting on her ceiling, the one she would see each time before sleeping. The one with a headless lady wearing a black and pink rococo style dress, an opera mask for eyes, with a colored fan on her left hand. Right hand holding the hand of a debonair thief with a devilish horned longed mask and black wings taking a knee for her.

All of this while in a bed of forget-me-nots and gardenias. Symbolizing both true love and the desire to not be forgotten and a secret love not corresponded. Her favorite pair of flowers that only one person in her life knew. The tears of her heart became more prominent once she started to dream… with a past that she didn’t want to remember.

5-star review.

* * *

The days and weeks went by and her constant use of Velvet became something usual for her and her assistant. While most of the tasks confided to her were resolved not only by her servants, staff team inside Okumura Foods, her assistant and mostly people inside her inner circle, some emergency orders or situations became a perfect excuse to ask for any of the good workers inside Velvet. Besides, the wedding was going to happen or not. And the stress of that day being near was getting harder and harder to bear.

Did she need a mechanic? **Rei Udagawa** , a former police maintenance technician was on sight. Her red eyes were a big contrast to her mechanic skills, she certainly could repair any kind of vehicle as fast the human eye could see.

A style manager? **Ranma Toujou** was a former model, so she was the perfect woman for the job. Her blond, blue eye American looks were a delight to see. Haru was sure she looked exactly like a former supermodel that once posed on the cover of the biggest fashion magazine in the world, on a worldwide release, nonetheless. 

Needed someone to help her enter the dress Sugimura chose for the celebration? **Yakumo Jou** , a former Olympic medalist, was the coach she needed to burn that fat. Not only she saw the discipline one could build as it tried to compete at the highest level possible but also his blonde hair and colorful language gave it a little more punch to her regime.

Things inside the Okumura Foods network that IT couldn’t repair? **Izumi Urata** was a double Ph.D. IT specialist that not only helped the many problems inside the company but also set up the network for which her father and Sugimura Works would use after the deal was consummated after the wedding. Yes, it was true that her orange long hair, disdain for the ‘low level’ IT department, and ‘internet’ speak were things that made her look… too big for the job, but once her fingers came down into her laptop, you can be sure she’s the biggest engineer in the world.

A wedding planner that she chose because both her Father and Sugimura were too occupied to deal with it? **Kasumi Yoshizawa** was the ideal person for that long task. Not only she could plan and create a calendar for any kind of event, but her management skills could handle even those big sports events. Oh and we mentioned that she helped the second in line to the throne of the country to find a partner and finally get married at the same time she was the head of operations for the Olympic inauguration event? Yes, she had the flexibility to multi-task. Just like in her days as a gymnast competing around the world.

The weirdest wasn’t that Velvet had the right person for the right job. Or that each person was so perfect that every job would end with a five-star review. It was the guy who came with them.

When Udagawa came to repair the limo that would take her to the airport one day before the wedding? **Tsukasa Kujou** was with her. And he was the person who knew -at least accidentally, he made it look like it- the secret compartment between the back seat and the door. A secret stash where sometimes she found a message from someone in a little piece of paper.

As for Toujou? **Yuuki Kiryu** was her bodyguard. Who not only helped her to move between crowds in Roppongi but also knew how Haru loved french style fashion, something that she noted when Haru didn’t have any idea about which style to wear and when Toujou gave him the word, he got it right. _‘Just a guess, sorry,’_ he said.

There was no one with Jou, as it was a 1-on-1 training regime but she could hear how he told someone on her phone about her not ‘ _concentrating enough’_ , their answer? Treat her with the special curry that Cafe Leblanc sells each Monday. A treat she didn’t expect after they ended their second week of exercises in her private gym. She hadn't heard about the cafe in many years since… nevermind.

Urata was an enigma. Too many technical terms and internet lingo in her speech that even their IT department didn’t know what to speak and respond. For that reason, **Itsuki Onda** was her ‘normie translator’ as she called him. Needless to say, seeing a good looking man rocking a suit was the gossip talk for many of the women -and some men- inside the Okumura Building for a few days. That included her, obviously. 

No one with Kasumi, of course. While she had her own office -which ironically was just 30 minutes away from the Okumura manor-, Haru could swear to the many gods that she saw someone in the crew who loaded the things for the reception that looked so much like…

“Miss Okumura, are you alright?” said Kasumi, out of the blue.

“Oh… Oh! Right! What we were talking about?” Haru got out of her thinking cloud for once this day.

She was again in Kasumi’s office. Giving one last look at all the planning for the wedding. A wedding that was going to be just under two days now. A wedding that she didn’t want. An arrangement made only to make her Father happy, Sugimura happy and to seal their ticket into Shido’s inner circle for the rest of their lives.

While Kasumi had a little feeling of what Haru was thinking right now, she didn’t ask any question about it. For now, their last conversation was going to be this. One last chance, one last part of their plan.

“The driver, Miss Okumura. Was asked by the Sugimura family to get you a driver to take you to the ceremony. We were informed of the added security for the event, therefore we asked for them to handle the entire team of drivers, handlers, and security to finally release our contract and the contract made by Velvet Services.”

“I… understand.” Haru enjoyed the time she used to get a hold of Velvet. But now she was under the hands of Sugimura, wherever she wanted it or not.

Kasumi noted her sadness, a path to enter the final phase.

“Ok. So... Mr. Sugimura did just send us the staff book. Per his instructions, you may choose one driver for the travel from Okumura Mansion to the private meeting room and one for the route swap into the private airfield.”

Haru was surprised. “He let me choose?”

“We don’t know why Mr. Sugimura told us to do it besides the fact we must complete the contract letter by letter, Miss Okumura. Now, If you may…”

Yoshizawa gave her the small -rather, slim- book full with info of all the available staff that the Sugimura family screened themselves. The fact her Father took initiative into the final parts of the planning and also put Sugimura in charge of the remains of both Yoshizawa’s and Velvet’s contracts was something she didn’t expect but it was necessary. Gossip between members of the company let out some kind of threat made to him by an unknown group of vigilantes that made their moves public since last year: “The Phantom Thieves”.

Yes, she had seen news reports about them and they were famous because of the targets they caught and the way they did it. Mostly by getting a famous relic as a plus of any evidence that let out their bad deeds and mistakes. She didn’t believe them until the news that put Madarame Ichiryusai -an associate of her father and close to Shido- in jail.

This led to a series of attacks that finally made her Father take a step into making this wedding as soon as possible. That included not only giving more power to Sugimura to plan everything, giving full reigns up and down, but also, to rush the ceremony from their estimated time of 6 months to barely 2 months since the announcement in the gala that presented her as the heiress of the Okumura fortune.

Haru took the book into her hands and started to see it page by page. Many names and qualifications came to view. Professional drivers, ex-police members, private detectives, military veterans -not only from Japan but also foreigners-. All of them went to the same test periods to assure the maximum level of safety. 

A few names popped into her eyes, mostly because of how it rolled in her tongue. Souji Seta, Akinari Noumiya, Sakuma Shiomi, Yuuya Narumi were the ones that more captivated her pronunciation. 

Until she eyed one that she felt was the right one. Not because of the name, but because of the photo.

“I choose this one. The other one can be chosen by Sugimura if he wants to. I don’t mind.”

Yoshizawa saw the name and nodded. “Understood, I’ll make the request and I take it from here. It was a pleasure working with you, Miss Okumura.”

She finally gave Kasumi the smile she lost since she entered the office. “The pleasure is mine.”

It wasn’t until Haru left the office that she took a cellphone different than the one she used and proceeded to send a message.

The name that Haru chose?

**Kurusu Akira.**

* * *

_‘_ _Maybe I don’t need to wake up.’_

_‘Maybe I should ask the driver or the pilot to change the route and not take me there.’_

_‘Maybe I should escape without telling anybody. It would be easier than just going there.’_

These were the main things Haru said to herself as she went through her last morning routine as a single independent woman. Her last morning as an Okumura. The last morning she would see her servants, her office, her colleagues, her bedroom. The last day she would be a person, to submit to becoming a housewife.

But she didn’t want that. Haru didn’t want to be reduced to a simple housewife. She wanted to live, to be herself, to be loved by someone that shared the same ideals as her, that loved coffee and gardening, and be a change in their community… someone like him.

Haru almost broke into tears in front of her vanity mirror. It was unfair that after all those years, after all those therapy sessions, behind the many times she experienced grief, that a person that looked like him and talked like him appeared in her life again. It wasn’t fair that people did the same quirks, knew the same tastes as her, and mostly… hid behind a mask.

Alas, everything came to an end. That included her life inside the Okumura household. Most of her things were already in the Sugimura mansion, where she would be the rest of her days. The last view of her bedroom and most of the ceiling gave her a pain in her heart. A tearful -for some- and deep -for everyone- thank you to each of her servants reminded her of the many memories she got of her childhood and how she was going to leave all behind.

A bow from all of the servants of the Okumura manor was the final farewell she got from her house. As she finally boarded her limo, the sight of the driver behind the dividing mirror after she pushed the button that lowered it was enough to try to do her final push for freedom. If her heart and soul were right, that is.

“You can go now.” It wasn’t until the limousine passed the gates of Okumura manor that she started to talk. She wasn’t assured that this would work, but it was a gamble she wanted to take before her life became a shelf of its former self.

“I remember the first time you knew that coffee jelly was my favorite dessert.” She kept watching the road outside of her window. “You were just getting into the idea that everyone in Shujin hated or feared you. Just because you were a delinquent that transferred because of his parole.” Haru remembered that day like it was yesterday, even though it really was almost 10 years ago. “But you were a genius. And each question the teachers sent your way was met with a correct answer until Mr. Ushimaru got you into a trick question and threw you a piece of chalk. You tried to eat in the cafeteria but the gossip and the bad eyes made you move back into the classroom, but Ushimaru made it clear that it wasn’t a safe place. So you walked to the last floor and up the stairs to reach the rooftop.” 

As the many buildings were left behind, the traffic became a sight for sore eyes, but she felt blessed for gaining more time to express her feelings.

“And you were there. Sitting beside the first planks of the garden club. I saw you there trying to help a poor tomato plant that got slanted because of the wind. You were shocked to see me that tried to leave. Only for me to stop you. You still got some tomato sauce on one of your cheeks because of the yakisoba bread and I offered the last of my coffee jelly.” She let out a chuckle. “The first thing you told me after seeing the jelly was ‘Why?’. And still, to this day, I said what I said that day: ‘I thought you needed something for dessert’. I knew that you were a good person and that Ushimaru and everyone else was lying.”

Haru went off, speaking about the many things she remembered about that person that taught her about love, compassion, and caring for others. Something that she lost long ago.

From the fact that gardenias and forget-me-nots were the plants for her graduation project. The messages that one person left for her each time they had an exam week on a secret compartment on her personal limo. The Parisian wardrobe she wore to her first date -which involved not only eating in a famous ramen shop but also a little competition inside a batting cage- which was a little too much -said her, not him-. 

How Leblanc’s curry was the perfect curry or food she ever ate, something that could be a phenomenal sensation overnight, but she decided to promote it after learning the story about such a savory plate. She often thought about Futaba, the daughter of ‘Boss’ Sojiro Sakura, whose mother died just after creating the perfect curry.

She gave the driver a look to only see that he didn’t give any sign of attention to her story. Haru knew that even he didn’t care at least once. But now it was the real story to say. She didn’t pay attention to the fact the limo changed route when she started to talk, or the driver took his hat and left it on the passenger seat.

“I still got it with me, you know? The button from your uniform that you gave me that day.”

She couldn’t see it, but the driver’s grip on the steering wheel was far from comfortable. The gloves covered the tight grip and his knuckles turning white for a second.

“That day was great. We were graduating and I was already thinking about college. I was happy that your parole went by so peacefully. And we were so happy that you even told me how much you wanted to go to TokyoU and stay here… but you didn’t.”

She turned again to see the roads on her window. Tokyo was left behind and the path to the private airfield as well. Haru didn’t care at all.

“You told me good night and even told me how much you wanted to see me the next day. Only to find out you were gone. Not only of the city but also of my life.”

She took her time seeing the engagement ring on her right hand. A beautiful custom-made diamond that Sugimura gave her after the gala. ‘A proof of the future for our families’, he told her. She took it out of her hand, and even she wanted to throw it away so far her arm could gave, instead left it on the secret compartment of the limo. A note was there and a quick look told her what would happen next. She knew this was her time to speak, so she didn't hold back.

“Not responding to my messages. Not answering my calls. Your guardian couldn’t tell me where you went because he didn't even have any idea of where you were. I was so scared of you being lost or even worse. And then I saw it, your name, in the newspaper my father read each morning.”

A knot on her throat almost let some tears go, but she caught courage out of nowhere and kept speaking.

“It was a big headline. A bus crash just before reaching Inaba. Two lists out on the front page, one with many names of the people who got injured, the other with the people who passed away… and you were on that list.” 

A few sobs came out, small tears falling down her face. The limo had stopped its course and parked at the side of the highway, afar for where it was going. The door at her side was open and someone seated along with her. It was the driver, Akira Kurusu.

He tried to grab her hand now resting over the middle part of the seat, she didn’t let him do it.

“Don’t,” she said, yanking her hand out of his reach to let it rest on her lap.

She took a deep breath, more to herself than him. Cleaning her eyes off the small pecks of water. Kept her focus at the clearing where they stood, looking at the simple warehouse by the trees at the end of the small road.

“12 years. 12 long years, Ren,” her tone of voice was tense, the bubbly feeling he felt since that night in the kitchen... gone.

“12 years in which I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t eat, couldn’t think, and certainly couldn’t be myself. You know what’s worse? Father really thought I was sick or something. One doctor behind the other, lab results that showed that everything was normal… except for a broken heart. No doctor can diagnose a broken heart.”

He tried again to reach her hand. Scooting a little more next to her and instead opting for resting his hand over hers. He could feel her nerves, if not her desire to scream.

“I never wanted to be in that gala. Stupid father and their stupid connections and stupid deals that left me just standing there, looking pretty with a gag on my mouth. Many times I wanted to escape but many times I came to the conclusion that he would use everything in his power to bring me back into the house.”

She grabbed his hand, feeling the tears coming down once again. Her free hand took a locket that covered her neck and opened to reveal a small photo of them with a button of his Shujin coat, she let her eyes remember that date on Shinjuku, their first _'real'_ date.

“And then you came back. With another name, another look, another way to speak. But you were there. I saw it in your eyes when you sent that knife into the air. I saw it when you took my french press -our french press- out of its hiding place. Then again on my ceiling. In the curry. On everything.” Her sobs came out one by one, she couldn't hold it anymore, and started to cry.

He helped her to finally come into an embrace, her crying muffled by her face hiding on his chest. Her sobbing and tears dampening his shirt. One of her hands grabbing hard one of the seams of his working suit. The other still with the locket.

“I am scared, Ren. I am scared of something happening between you and me and that makes you run again. I can’t do this. I’m tired. I’m so tired.”

He let silence go by, more to her mind than to this. Her cries of sadness were necessary, otherwise the girl he fell in love to begin with wouldn't be back.

“I won’t run again, Haru. I promise.” The voice hasn’t changed since that night, she thought.

“Then prove it,” she said, while finally looking at him in his eyes. The same charcoal eyes which she said goodbye all those years ago. “I don’t want your voice saying things that cannot be done. I’m tired of just hearing things that may not be true. Prove it right now. Each time I see you, I want you to prove that you will not run again from my heart.”

He took her face, slowly, gently, as if it were something too delicate, too fragile to be moved.

“It will take some time. But I’ll do it. Day after day, hour after hour. I’ll prove it.”

A kiss sealed his intentions of being back in her life. Her sadness went away with each touch of his lips. It didn’t take much for the passion that once left came back to the limo, as the evening sun came down on them.

* * *

_“Top of our news: Masayoshi Shido, candidate by the United Future Party to the seat of Prime Minister, was found guilty this morning of diverse criminal charges included ‘conspiracy’, ’homicide’, ’fraud’ and ’blackmail’, which not only involved him but also diverse big names in art, sports, organized crime leaders and even the former ‘ace detective’ Goro Akechi, whose sudden disappearance is directly linked to Shido, according to the statement given by the National Police Agency._

_The prosecutor assigned to this case, Nijima Sae, remarked on the sudden evidence found by an anonymous source just days before election day. This, combined with the account witness cooperation by Okumura Kunikazu, former CEO of Okumura foods and Head of his family, led to a rapid response by the NPA and the arrest of Shido in his office inside the Diet building._

_Shido’s arrest and conviction bring closure to some victims of his crimes. Such as both Nijima Makoto, sister of the already mentioned prosecutor of the NPA Nijima Sae, and the young Ren Amamiya, a former student of Shujin Academy who passed away in a bus crash accident orchestrated by Shido almost 13 years ago._

_His family gave thanks to those who helped the NPA to finally bring peace to their son, as his remains rest in a cemetery near his home residence of Inaba._

_When asked by the reporters about the implications and rumors about the famous organization known as ‘Phantom Thieves’ being the ones who led the NPA into arresting Shido -as a message gave on their official site the night before the arrest led to believe that they took direct action against the former candidate-, both the prosecutor and the NPA denied such arguments and stressed out their task to bring those ‘vigilantes’ to life._

_In other news: Haru Okumura, daughter of Kunikazu and heiress of the Okumura fortune finally accepted her position as new CEO of Okumura Foods as told by a company memo made public this morning. In an interview given to this network yesterday just after Okumura Foods announced their selling into the Kirijo Group, Okumura stated that ‘her father’s actions will not lead into a bad restart for the company’._

_The merge comes almost 3 months after her sudden abduction made by the Sugimura family, who Okumura was stated to marry their eldest son, Naoki the day after the kidnap. Evidence led to his arrest and her rescue suggested that the plan was to take Okumura hostage and force her father to surrender the rights and shares of the company to Naoki himself. Naoki Sugimura and 4 more accomplices are serving as of right now, with Naoki being eligible for parole until he serves at least 25 of his 35-year sentence._

_We now move to Junko Yagami for the weather…”_

It wasn’t the sound of the reporter announcing more snow for today on TV that woke her up, neither the fact a black tuxedo cat was sleeping quietly over in the space between the pillows, but rather the sight of the empty side of the bed. She tried to rub off the sleep of her eyes by looking if her lover was nearby, but only found one of the heaters in the center of the apartment. 

The apartment was nice, cozy, and rustic, rather different from the one dusty attic she visited in the past. Thanks to a full remodeling of the site, a new building was built and now had almost all the amenities one would need to live, but still was above a cafe, buried inside the neighborhood of Yongen-Jaya.

It didn’t take much of the chills given by the winter weather for her to get back inside the comforter, only for the one door of the apartment to open and let her lover enter into the room.

She saw him and scooted to let him and rest, he left the bags in the small kitchen and approached the bed. He gave her a small kiss on the little patch of the forehead that the comforter left behind, to then take the cat who woke up and started to meow.

“No, Morgana. You know you need to let mom sleep. Let’s take you back.” said him.

The tuxedo cat meowed in response. He moved slowly so as to not fall into Morgana’s rage.

“I know, I know. Is cold and you want some heat from the bed. But your bed has an electric heater nearby. Take it or leave it.”

Another meow showed the cat’s discomfort. 

“I don’t care if you want to get into our bed. Your bed is new, Morgana! You must use it! It was made for cats!”

One more set of meows given by the tuxedo cat when he left it on its bed gave away the fact Morgana wasn’t like most cats.

“You're a cat! Not a human! Stop whining!”

A discussion between them gave her laughs, sometimes she asked him if Morgana was a person in the form of a cat or a cat with the mind of a person. The doubt and anxiety she felt when woke up was leaving her mind bit by bit. 

She was full-on laughing on the bed when the discussion ended with Morgana the cat-not cat-cat finally sleeping with its electric heater on the side. He took his time to get into bed and let her embrace to shield him from the cold. Both took a glance at the TV, with another repetition of the news of Shido’s sentence.

“So… It is over? No more thieves?” She broke the silence while he grabbed another pillow to rest his back.

“It is. I think so. No more thieves, no more dangers. Only work from now on.” His voice was tired, not because of the talking with Morgana, but because of the exhausting task that plagued him since the night he walked in Inaba and stopped a drunk man from assaulting a woman.

“What are you going to do now?” She said. She was right. The task was done, no more trying to juggle the freelancing and the duty to bring justice for some who didn’t have the fortune to have it.

“I guess… My life is back to normal. No way I can go with my parents, so there’s that. But also... ” 

A kiss from her took out his thoughts. It took a lot of him to finally reach this stage of ‘his life’. So he wouldn’t throw it again so easily. He returned the affection, finally laying on the bed and covering both with the comforter.

“Hey, Ren.”

“Yes?”

“What would happen if… you know... “

“If I told you who I was that night?”

Her silence told him what he needed to know. A quick kiss followed suit. And one by one their clothes went out of the comforter. One by one until it was only nakedness under the comforter.

“You didn’t see it but… I was tempted. I was totally tempted to throw all of this with the excuse of finally being able to be with you once again. But I thought of them, I couldn’t leave them alone with this. Shido was there and If someone didn’t stop him, how much evil would be running out in the streets?”

Another kiss emphasized his resolve.

“I told you that I’m going to prove why I’m not running again, Haru.”

She let out a chuckle, the same words he told her -at least once- each day after that day in the limo, made her blush rise up with the heat between them.

“I know you will, Ren.”

Kisses and pleasure went down under the comforter, trying to escape the cold winter that covered Tokyo like every December, this Christmas morning.

A love once forgotten, reunited at last. **And to think it started with a freelance worker.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it. The biggest word count I've had in AO3 for a single chapter or oneshot. 3 different drafts, 2 of them being their own stories to this point. Glad to say, I made it. At the time this chapter is published marks my one year anniversary of being here in AO3 and taking fanfics as a hobby. Cheers to that.
> 
> The names for the thieves and AkiRen were the names given to the Protagnist of Persona 5 The Stage, the theater adaptation of Persona 5. The madlads, changing the name of the poor protagonist each play. 
> 
> One thing I can “thank” the current pandemic is that the freelance culture and work from home culture became a little more prominent in today’s society. The problem now is… well, besides more competition, some businesses are chipping bit by bit the calmness of freelancing with overtime, off work hours and even worse management than the current contracted employees. 
> 
> Either way, times are changing, and the pandemic just did that in 2x speed. 
> 
> Bitter is next. Stay safe, stay put, stay hydrated.

**Author's Note:**

> Katsuhito - Haru’s grandfather: 勝 (katsu) meaning "victory" or 克 (katsu) meaning "overcome" combined with 人 (hito) meaning "person" or 仁 (hito) meaning "compassionate".  
> Miu - Haru’s mother: 美 (mi) meaning "beautiful" and 羽 (u) meaning "feather".  
> Takayo - Haru’s grandmother: 恭 (taka) meaning "respect" combined with 代 (yo) meaning "generation".
> 
> The story is set 2 years after P5 - P5R. No P5S elements here. I don't think I'll put something about scramble, who knows.
> 
> In case you wondering, yes. She gets her mask and code name for Ren's engagement ring. I'll say that they use those even more than their wedding rings. Both rings are the Artemis Kings collection for P5 that came out 3 years ago.
> 
> I always need more lore. More about their families. More about their lives before the grand stage. I know Atlus cannot do everything, so I'm glad fanfics can fill the gaps and make happy to those like me.


End file.
